Serena Williams may have lost to Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon, but she won at motherhood. The way Serena handled her loss has inspired women, mothers and athletes across the globe.
The 36 year old, holder of 23 Grand Slam singles titles and mother of Alexis Olympia, had an uphill battle to even get to the Wimbledon finals. It hasn’t even been a year since Serena almost died during childbirth due to health complications that left her bedridden for six weeks. As soon as she could, she returned to the court, except nothing was the same.
Serena Williams of the United States kneels after losing a point to Germany's Angelique Kerber during their women's singles final match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London, Saturday July 14, 2018.(AP Photo/Tim Ireland).
In her HBO docu-series, ‘Being Serena’, she struggles to find her rhythm back on the court and adjusting her post-baby body to train as the athlete she once was. She also opens up about feeling torn between choosing tennis and her family.
This feeling is very common for new mothers who have careers and are trying to raise a family. The pressure to get back into work right away while adjusting to motherhood is unsettling at best. Most American mothers are not even guaranteed to receive parental leave. Serena’s husband, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, has been a huge supporter and help with Serena’s comeback. He recently has urged congress to implement a nationwide paid parental leave structure that is similar to what he has created at his own companies. Reddit and Initialized Capital allow mothers and fathers 16 weeks of paid parental leave.
We still celebrate when a man simply acknowledges having a child, let alone doing their part to help raise them, while women in the workplace face a tremendous double standard as they balance supporting their family with their career,' Alexis stated in the The Hill.
Serena has evolved into an unstoppable force that has overcome stereotypes. Now, Williams is a strong advocate for women's rights such as gender equality, sexual harassment and body positivity. Serena made a statement this past March about her campaign with Nike on why she feels so empowered to bring equality for women, ‘I want my daughter to be truthful and honest, strong and powerful; to realize that she can impact those around her. I want her to grow up knowing a woman’s voice is extremely powerful. As females, we need to continue to be loud and make sure we are heard.’
Serena will always be a champion on and off the court in the hearts of many. Her vulnerability in opening up about her failure and struggles to empower other women is very telling and there is one thing we can all learn from her loss.
As women, we have so much pressure to “have it all.” Serena showed the world that we are only human. We can’t do it all. Instead of sitting at home and wondering if she could get back on the court as a new mother- she just did it. Of course she had the fear of failure, knowing the odds were highly stacked against her, but that did not stop her in trying to achieve her goals.
Even in her latest Instagram post she gives a message of hope to all working mothers and ensures that even though she lost, she is just getting started.
We need to embrace failure as a part of the process on the road to success, just as Serena has. She knows she has to put in the hours, dedication, consistency and ruthless effort to get back to where she once was. This loss was just a part of her journey to bigger and better things.
Wins do not happen overnight. Behind every win is blood, sweat and tears. We tend to only see the glamorous side of being successful, without all failures that come with it.
So embrace your inner Serena, go out and fail in order to win. Whether you are an athlete, an entrepreneur or a new mother - do not be afraid to fall down while figuring out this thing called life.