Tennis star Sloane Stephens enjoys womanhood, but there are times when she’s playing pro tennis and pondering her career choices, that she wouldn’t mind being a man. Giving birth is at the top of the list.
Sloane Stephens Wants To Have Baby Some Day
During a recent interview with “Today,” Stephens opened up about her opinions on building a family of her own and how monumental a decision it is for any woman, but especially one in the middle of her career.
Problem is, there’s also a biological clock for having kids. The time off required after you give birth and the effect that time off can have on a burgeoning career is something that women athletes always have to consider and work through.
The WTA star said, “I’m thinking of having a family one day, it’s best to be proactive, obviously in professional sports, all of the girls I play with are also like me.”
Candace Parker: WNBA Stardom vs. Childbirth
Candace Parker won WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year in ’08. She was the next WNBA GOAT and the league was prepared to market her as such. Parker married NBA player Sheldon Williams in 2008 and their daughter Lailaa Nicole Williams was born on May 13, 2009.
News of Parker’s pregnancy was a huge dose of reality for the WNBA and the fans. She played just 25 of 33 games in 2009 and then she played just 27 games the next two seasons. Her 16-year career is still littered with historical accomplishments but those games she missed was a significant blow to the L.A. Sparks franchise, who won a title with her as a rookie and the future face of the league.
Some say the WNBA never forgave CP, and you always heard rumblings from players over the years about being told straight up by teams and coaches and players not to get pregnant.
Sloane Stephens Still Enjoys Playing and Traveling
Most women see childbirth as the ultimate gift. But professions like sports, where you are on the grind every day, traveling and competing for huge stakes, can be roadblocks to having a child at an age that most women desire.
Seven years ago, Serena Williams secured her final Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open while secretly pregnant, so balancing the two and still participating in major tournaments are possible.
“I love traveling,” Sloane explained. “Just seeing the world and experiencing, obviously when I stop playing tennis, I won’t have the same opportunities to see the world. Just enjoying it and trying to stay as young as possible.”
Stephens, 31, is not a young woman in terms of her window for playing world class tennis and having a low-risk pregnancy. She realizes this more than anyone and it’s weighing on her mind.
“It’s ticking,” Stephens said of her biological clock.
Sloane Stephens Is Married To Soccer Player Jozy Altidore
Stephens is married to Jozy Altidore, a Major League Soccer player from the United States. They exchanged nuptials on Jan. 1, 2022, at the St. Regis Bal Harbour in Miami Beach, Florida. According to reports, she and New England Revolution striker had been together on and off since childhood.
Stephens was honest about how men are free from most consequences or physical strain when it comes to starting their own family.
She said, “Playing professional sports…everyone is thinking about the same thing whereas men don’t have to think about it. They kind of can do whatever they want.”
She’s alluding to the planning a woman must do even after she finds out she’s pregnant. After two years of marriage, Stephens seems very ready to embark on a next phase in life. In womanhood.
Pro Tennis Players Must Plan Ahead To Have Baby: Egg Freezing Is An Option
She continued, “Women have to be more strategic, they have to plan ahead, they have to be proactive.”
It’s not as if Stephens is totally missing out on the joy of motherhood, as she is already on the job as stepmom to Cameron, 9, Altidore’s child from a past relationship.
Who knows when Stephens and Altidore will take the next step. According to the interview, they haven’t even taken a honeymoon yet.
“Work gets in the way sometimes,” Stephens said. We’ve both been working crazy schedules and, as I said, I travel so much. We said we’re going to do something. I just don’t know what.”
Sloane Stephens Worth $30M: Thinks It’s Unfair To Give Up Career For Baby
At the end of the day it’s clear that Stephens loves her current lifestyle and wants to enjoy every minute and use all of her energy and time to maximize her performance on the court for as long as she can. She’s not willing to give up her dream and she isn’t enthralled with the reality that she would have to be the one to put her career on hold if a baby comes into the picture.
“And I think it’s not fair to give up our career to want to have a family. You can want both and have both. It’s just that you have to be really strategic,” Stephens explained.
Stephens, who won her only major at the 2017 U.S. Open over Serena Williams in Flushing, Queens, also has won eight WTA titles. From then on, she’s chased the bag.
She’s an accomplished tennis player with an estimated $30 million net worth. So, when she has her baby, she will be able to hire as much help as she needs to be able to arrange her life in a positive way.
