Kim Clijsters highlights Serena Williams' near miss as she backs Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova & Victoria Azarenka to achieve motherhood milestone

Former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters backed Naomi Osaka, Victoria Azarenka, and Petra Kvitova to win a grand slam as a mother. All four players have made their comebacks to tennis over the past 12-14 months after giving birth.

41-year-old Clijsters remains the last mother to win a grand slam in the women's singles category, something which she achieved three times. Currently, there are quite a few players on the WTA Tour who are mothers but have not been able to win a Slam. However, Kim Clijsters believes that could change with the current crop of mothers.

The Belgian was talking to the Australian Open's "The Sit-Down Podcast", as she backed the likes of Osaka, Kvitova and Azarenka to win a Grand Slam after giving birth. She also mentioned how close Serena Williams came to a Major title after giving birth to her daughter Olympia.

"Serena was definitely the one who has come the closest. There's so many great players out there that are mothers and that have won Grand Slams [before having children], like Osaka, Kvitova, Vika. These are all players who know how to do it," Clijsters said.

Clijsters also said that it gives her joy when she sees so many kids running around the players' restaurant and so many mothers doing so good at different events, saying:

"I'm proud seeing so many women [with kids] in the draw and seeing the kids walk around and their family members in the players' restaurant. That's what it's all about.”

Among mothers on the WTA Tour, Elina Svitolina, Victoria Azarenka and Belinda Bencic are currently in the top 50. Bencic has made an impressive comeback, having won the Abu Dhabi Open while also reaching the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Petra Kvitova made her return to tennis this year but is yet to win a match, most recently losing 4-6, 5-7 to Sofia Kenin in the first round of the Miami Open. As for Naomi Osaka, she has won seven out of ten matches so far in 2025, most notably reaching the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland. The Japanese booked her place in the second round of the Miami Open after beating Yuliia Starodubtseva and here, she will take on 24th seed Liudmila Samsonova.

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Kim Clijsters won three Grand Slams as a mother, Serena Williams lost four finals

Kim Clijsterswith her daughter Jada, after winning the 2009 US Open (Image Source: Getty)

Kim Clijsters became the third player to win women's singles grand slam title as a mother in 2009, when she defeated Caroline Wozniacki to win the US Open that year. She did it again at the 2010 US Open, after beating Vera Zvonareva in the final. The Belgian successfully defended her title in 2010 after defeating Vera Zvonareva in the final.

Kim Clijsters' last Grand Slam triumph came at the 2011 Australian Open, where she beat Li Na in the title clash. All but one of her Grand Slam triumphs came as a mother.

Since the Belgian, Serena Williams came the closest to winning a Major singles title as a mother, as she reached four finals in 2018 and 2019. The American lost to Angelique Kerber and Naomi in the Wimbledon and US Open, respectively, in 2018. The following year, she lost to Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu in the London Major and the New York Major, respectively.