Tennis champion Serena Williams sent out an inspirational message on Instagram to moms all over the world, reports E! News .
She posted an image of her with one foot perched on a rock in front of the sea at sunset. In the lengthy caption, she spoke out about her personal struggles over the past week, specifically in terms of her not feeling like she’s been a good mom.
“Last week was not easy for me. Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk,” she wrote. “Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom.”
Her daughter, Alexis Olympia, is now 11-months-old.
The tennis player continued talking about her “postpartum emotions” in the caption and how she finds talking things out with her family to be the best therapy. She spoke about how her sisters validate her feelings and reassure her that it’s normal to feel like she’s not doing enough for her daughter.
The Grand Slam winner continued in the post about how she’s found it tough to balance her passion for tennis and the demands placed on her to train constantly and strive to be the best athlete she can be.
In July, People reported that Williams “cried” after missing her daughter’s first steps while she was training for Wimbledon. Although she made it to the championship less than a year after giving birth, Williams lost in the Wimbledon finals to Angelique Kerber.
Williams continued her message in the Instagram post.
“I’m not around as much as I would like to be. Most of you moms deal with the same things.”
She encouraged fellow moms who may also share the same feelings of not being able to do enough for their children.
“Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes.”
Ever since her daughter was born, Williams has been open about the rollercoaster ride of motherhood. In an article she penned for CNN Opinion , the tennis star wrote about her traumatic near-death experience after giving birth to baby Alexis Olympia.
“First my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism. I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs.”
Williams has never been short of inspirational messages for her fans and is always willing to be open and honest about her own struggles in life.
In the words of the tennis star herself, “There’s always tomm!”
