A Mom Serves An Ace

Retired from professional tennis, Kim Clijsters, the former #1 player in the world, has spent the past couple of years doing things that she felt was more worthwhile in life, healing her numerous tennis injuries, getting married, giving birth to a daughter and dealing with the loss of her father to Lung Cancer. Knowing the effort that parenthood requires, it would almost seem impossible to devote the hours of training that is required of any athlete that is competing on a world class level.

It was amazing to watch her go toe-to-toe with Venus Williams in the US Open, arguably the best woman's tennis player of her generation. What is even more amazing is that Clijsters was playing only her 11th professional match since she came out of retirement. Clijsters was playing in the open thanks to a wild card (sort of like a free pass) given to her by the Tournament committee. It is amazing that she has been able to advance to the Quarterfinals of the US Open, the first person in the 41 year history of the Open to achieve that level of advancement with a wild card invitation.

What is most impressive about Clijsters is not the fact that she was once a great tennis player that has made a heroic comeback. What is most impressive is her attitude towards the game and how it compares to the greater challenges and joys of life. Listening to her post-match comments and how poignant that she was in defining the match in relationship to her life was refreshing to hear from a professional athlete. To paraphrase Clijsters, "Tennis is a great game, but it is not everthing." Clijsters truly served an ace with her interview and should be an inspiration to moms and athletes everywhere.