Babies are the topic of our first installment in Outside The Courts. Tennis players, like all athletes, are humans and the urge to become parents is still very strong in many despite their ferocious competitive nature.

Former number one and twenty-three time-major champion, Serena Williams, played the 2017 Australian Open pregnant.  She went on to win it as well despite being several weeks pregnant.  She later announced to the world that she was pregnant and her baby is due later this year (September).  Williams hopes to return to the Tour sometime next year.  Why not?  Victoria Azarenka had her baby boy late last season and played her first match since maternity leave in June of this year.

Andreea Mitu has announced (July 2017) that she is expecting her first child.  According to her Facebook announcement, this will be in early 2018.

Fabio Fognini’s wife, 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, gave birth to their first child in May of this year.  They are proud parents of a baby boy.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his longtime girlfriend had their first child together.  She gave birth to a son in March of this year.  Tsonga has returned to the Tour after paternity leave, nit quite as fit and focused as he was prior to his break.

Nicolas Almagro and his wife had their first child, earlier this year.  While Almagro recovers from his knee surgery he will have the pleasant distraction of his son.

Novak Djokovic, former number one, and his wife are expecting their second child and so too is the current number one, Andy Murray, and his wife.

Three of the “fabled top four” are married and proud fathers; Rafael Nadal remains the only bachelor and is yet to become a father.  We have seen glimpses of his longtime girlfriend over the years though. Will he be announcing soon that he is married and his wife is pregnant?

We will be keeping our ears open curious to hear which other female tennis players will be having babies by the end of the season, which male players will become fathers, and which ones will be tying the knot.  Perhaps many athletes remain single because a family distracts from their single-minded focus; however, quite a few athletic parents have been quite adept at juggling both.

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