Will Serena Williams get her singles record when she returns to tennis in 2018?
Melbourne — Motherhood may do little to slow Serena Williams’s pursuit of grand slam success, but more hungry opponents, if they emerge, could yet deny her the singles record, the woman who holds that distinction says. Australian Margaret Court won 24 grand slam singles titles, one more than American Williams so far, who confirmed she was pregnant on Wednesday and would sit out the rest of the season. Court, who straddled the sport’s amateur and professional eras, was also the first mother to win a major as a professional. She took three of those titles in 1973, the year after giving birth to her first child Daniel. But she rejoined the tour at 31 while Williams would be 36 if she came back as planned in 2018 — a difference Court thought might play a role. "Coming back after Daniel, I had one of my best years … [but] I was quite a few years younger [than Williams]," Court said in an interview on Thursday. "And I think you’ve got to know physically what you can do and how you can do ...
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