Mothers prove they can multitask at the Miami Open

By Harvey Fialkov

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Mother’s Day came early on a sun-splashed Tuesday afternoon at the Miami Open presented by Itaú.

The ladies’ main draw of the 40th anniversary of the prestigious Masters 1000 event began in earnest, and it featured three women who have come off long layoffs while giving birth to their children.

No flowers or gifts were handed out to the three moms, including former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka, former No. 2 Petra Kvitova or currently No.2-ranked doubles player Taylor Townsend, however all three were cheered on by the many mothers in the stands on the outside courts of Hard Rock Stadium.

Osaka, a four-time major champion and a finalist here in 2022 (losing to Poland’s Iga Swiatek), took a 15-month sabbatical to give birth and rear daughter Shai, before returning to the tour on Jan. 7, 2024.

The 27-year-old Japanese native flashed signs of her vintage 2019 form in a baseline slugfest, albeit a 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 second-round loss to the top-ranked Pole at the French Open last summer, however, she has struggled since with a recurrent abdomen injury. Osaka has seen her rank plummet from 48 to 831, but back to its current 61.

Dressed in yellow from head to toe, Osaka, who has played just one match (first-round loss at Indian Wells) since retiring in a third-round match to Belinda Bencic – another young mom – in the Australian Open, found herself a set and break down with a point for 2-5 to Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Stardubtseva.

She then displayed the mental toughness that earned her nine titles – all on hard courts – and the year-ending No. 1 ranking in 2019. Known more for her power than defensive speed, Osaka displayed both and stormed back for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over the 108th-ranked Ukrainian, who dropped to 0-5 in main-draw matches this year.

“I was kind of shocked [that I was down], but I just tried to make every point count and eventually it adds up and thankfully I won that match,’’ said Osaka, who slammed 10 aces to none for her opponent.

“I’m most proud of my movement. I was able to get a lot of balls back today and I don’t think in my head I thought to rely on my wheels in a very long time. So, if I’ve gotten to this point in my fitness. It’s been quite a long journey post-pregnancy.”

Osaka, who honed her strokes on the South Florida courts surrounding Hard Rock Stadium, said her fondest memories involved family treks to the Miami Open during those years in Key Biscayne. She longs to return to the top of the sport so Shai can watch mommy lift Grand Slam trophies again.

“I want to play with the big dogs so bad,’’ said Osaka, who next plays 24th seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia. “I see everyone playing so well and I want to do the same. I have to remember it’s a process. I can’t speak for all the mothers but for me in particular, it was really hard to come back after pregnancy.

“I learned a lot of abdomen terms I’ve never heard before, so I feel very knowledgeable. I’m glad to be here and healthy. It’s really inspiring to see all the mothers on tour. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

In a rare first-round matchup of former Grand Slam champions, Kvitova, 35, a two-time Wimbledon champion and newest mother back on tour, was unable to outduel Sofia Kenin in a tight 6-4, 7-5 loss, dropping her to 0-3 since her 17-month maternity leave to have Petr.

Kenin, 26, the 2020 Australian Open champion who literally lives 10 minutes away in nearby Pembroke Pines, will play another major champion in a blockbuster second-rounder against South Florida product, the 3rd-seeded Coco Gauff, on Thursday.

“I was so nervous because I wanted to play Coco in the next round,’’ the 46th-ranked Kenin told TennisChannel. “I will have to serve at least as good as I did today or better.”

Kenin survived 13 aces from the 6-foot Czech, but it was the Russian-American winning 69 percent of her first serves that turned the tide.

In a late match, 90th-ranked Townsend, 28, joined fellow qualifier and her doubles partner Katerina Siniakova into the second round with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback victory over fellow American Ann Li.

Townsend, a rare serve-and-volleyer, took 18 months off (March 2021) to have Adyn Aubrey, and her doubles career has skyrocketed ever since, leading to the Wimbledon title in 2024 and the Australian Open title this year, both with Siniakova.

“I spent three months away from my son and that was really hard and a huge challenge for me,’’ said Townsend, who won her first singles match since the China Open last September.

“But I did it and got through it so I know I can do it now. I don’t want to but I know I can,’’ she said on her Insider Podcast.

There’s great news for future tennis-playing mothers. The WTA and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have just implemented up to 12 months of maternity leave thanks to Victoria Azarenka, one of the leaders of the initiative.

The 32nd-ranked Azarenka, who’s vying for her fourth Miami Open title this week, is a two-time major champion (Australia 2012-13). However, since giving birth to Leo in 2016, the 35-year-old Belarusian and former No. 1, has never returned to the Top 10 despite reaching the US Open final in 2020.

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, 30, a former world No. 3 and seeded 22nd this week, returned to the tour after 13 months on April 2023 to have daughter Skai. A month later she won Strasbourg, a WTA 500 tournament. She then reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and semifinals at Wimbledon. Earlier this year she lost to eventual champion Madison Keys in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Bencic, a 28-year-old Swiss, was ranked 4th in February 2020 and is now 45th, but after taking 20 months off to birth and raise Bella, she returned to the tour in October 2024, and last month won her ninth title, the WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi of UAE.

German Tatjana Maria reached her career-high rank of 42 last year while raising two children, including 11-year-old Charlotte, a promising junior tennis player.

Perhaps the most successful comeback after giving birth was by four-time Grand Slam singles champion Kim Clijsters, when after a two-year layoff while raising her daughter Jada, she won the US Open in 2009 in just her third tournament back. She went on to repeat the feat in 2010 and won the Australian Open in 2011 to become the first mother to be ranked No. 1.

Australian Evonne Goolagong was the first mother to win a Grand Slam (1980 Wimbledon) in 66 years.

Serena Williams remarkably won the Australian Open in 2017 while pregnant with Olympia, her 23rd and last major. However, in her effort to tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 major titles, she came up short in four Slam finals before retiring after the 2022 season at 41.

Defending champion Danielle Collins, accompanied by her “little son”, a mixed poodle named Quincy, reversed her decision to retire last year due to medical issues that could adversely affect her chances of giving birth, said she’s inspired by all the mothers now on tour.

“It’s pretty inspiring seeing so many women that have had children and have chosen to come back and play at such a high level,’’ said Collins, 31 and ranked 15th. “It seems like a lot of women on tour are having some great runs in their career, and even more successful now than they were before.

“I know that’s offering a lot of inspiration to so many women and is so cool. I couldn’t imagine being able to come back from something like that. It’s probably the most physically hard thing that you could ever go through. And I just have so much respect for anybody that’s chosen that path.”

Of the 12 male qualifiers through to the main draw, three Americans prevailed, including Ethan Quinn of Boca Raton, Mackenzie McDonald, and Brandon Holt, son of tennis great Tracy Austin.

However, 17-year-old Darwin Blanch, a native of Boca Raton training in Spain at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy, lost a heartbreaker 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) to Chun-Hsin Tseng of Tapei.