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Tennis pro Serena Williams revealed Monday that her historic loss at San Jose’s Silicon Valley Classic on July 31 might have had something to do with postpartum depression.
‘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,’ the 36-year-old athlete – who boasts 24.8M social media followers – admitted.
‘I read several articles that said postpartum emotions can last up to 3 years if not dealt with. I like communication best. Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal.’
The four-time Olympic gold medalist previously admitted she could have played ‘a zillion times better’ against British player Johanna Konta, who beat her (6-1, 6-0) during their 52-minute match.It was the fifth tournament Serena competed in since welcoming her first child with husband, Initialized Capital General Partner Alexis Ohanian Sr.
‘I have so many things on my mind, I don’t have time to be shocked about a loss,’ Williams shrugged on August 1.
‘I clearly wasn’t at my best. When I was out there, I was fighting. I wasn’t just giving it away. I was moving a lot better. I’m just trying to take the positives. I think [Johanna] played well in the second set. I wasn’t sharp at all in the first set, and she got more confident from there. She clearly ran away with it.’
On Saturday, the Michigan-born champ cited ‘personal reasons’ for pulling out of her match Monday against France’s Alizé Cornet at Montreal’s Rogers Cup.
This, after the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale grad pulled out of the French Open in June after injuring a pectoral muscle.
However, Serena and her sister Venus are still scheduled to headline the Greenbrier Champions Tennis Classic’s seventh anniversary tournament happening September 15-16 in West Virginia.
But first, Williams and the 35-year-old former Reddit co-founder will celebrate their daughter Alexis Olympia’s first birthday on September 1.
