US tennis icon Serena Williams has opened up on her withdrawal from this week’s Rogers Cup in Canada, explaining she felt “she was not a good mom” as she tries to balance taking care of her daughter and continuing her career.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner pulled out of the Montreal tournament on Saturday citing "personal reasons."
On Monday, the 36-year-old player revealed in an Instagram post that she was "in a funk" and struggling with “postpartum emotions.”
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"Last week was not easy for me. Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk. Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom," wrote Williams, who had suffered the heaviest defeat of her career after losing to Britain’s Johanna Konta in the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic.
The 2018 Wimbledon runner-up said that her goal to return to the top of the sport made her feel she was not "doing enough for her baby.”
“We have all been there. I work a lot, I train, and I’m trying to be the best athlete I can be,” the tennis star wrote. “However, that means although I have been with her [my daughter] every day of her life, I’m not around as much as I would like to be.”
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Williams resumed her career in March after returning from maternity leave, having given birth to her daughter, Olympia, last year.
Last month she slammed US doping officials, accusing them of discrimination and unfair targeting after she was subjected to multiple doping tests during a short period of time.