"The narrative is ‘she didn’t make it’": Serena Williams doesn't get credit for reaching four Grand Slam finals after becoming a mother says Kim Clijsters

Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters declares that Serena Williams did not receive enough credit for reaching a Grand Slam final after the birth of her first daughter, Olympia, in September 2017. In that year, Williams won the Australian Open by defeating her sister Venus 6-4, 6-4, securing her 23rd Grand Slam.

Days after winning the title, Williams announced her pregnancy during the tournament and took some time off. The American didn't stay away for long and made a comeback in March 2018 at Indian Wells.

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Serena Williams thanks her sister Venus Williams for her impact on her career and the sport of tennis after the 2017 Australian Open final: "She's my inspiration. She's the only reason I'm standing here today, and the only reason that the Williams Sisters exist."

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Undoubtedly, Serena Williams' major goal was to break Steffi Graf's record of 23 Grand Slams and equal Margaret Court as the all-time Grand Slam title leader. She came close but lost four consecutive finals before announcing her retirement at the 2022 US Open.

Four-times Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters is the only tennis player so far who returned after becoming a mother and won a Grand Slam title . In fact, the Belgian achieved this feat three times: US Open in 2009 and 2010, and then the Australian Open in 2011.

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Clijsters recently expressed her opinion that Williams doesn't get enough credit for reaching four Grand Slam finals after returning from pregnancy: “I don’t think there’s a clear answer as to why no one has done it since. Serena Williams has been very close,” she told The Telegraph.

“I feel like a lot of times she didn’t get enough credit for being in all those grand slam finals after having her daughter. The narrative is ‘she didn’t make it’ and it takes away from the level she was playing. I think it will happen. I think it’s just the competitive nature and depth of our sport that has increased from when I was younger,” she added.

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Grand Slam finals for Williams after pregnancy

The American achieved a record of 23-6 in Grand Slam finals, but after the birth of her daughter, she lost four consecutive finals, failing to win a set in any of them. She lost the 2018 Wimbledon final to Angelique Kerber (3-6, 3-6) and the 2019 final to Simona Halep (2-6, 2-6).

In the US Open, she also reached the finals in 2018 and 2019, although they were also defeats, first against Naomi Osaka (2-6, 4-6) and finally against Bianca Andreescu (3-6, 5-7).

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2018 - #OnThisDay in 2018, Angelique #Kerber defeated Serena #Williams and became the first German to win Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1996. Groundbreaking. @WTA @WTA_insider

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