In 2025, two mothers came close to winning a Grand Slam title. Belinda Bencic (Wimbledon) and Naomi Osaka (US Open) fell short of the ultimate prize, losing in the semifinal stage. That left the list of mothers who have won a Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era just three names long (or short). But who make up the trio that have pulled off this feat on the grandest stage?
Three Mothers Who Won a Grand Slam in the Open Era
1. Margaret Court
In the Open Era, Australian tennis legend Margaret Court was the first woman to win a Grand Slam after giving birth. Court played the 1971 Wimbledon tournament while pregnant with her first child, but lost the singles final to Evonne Goolagong Cawley. A couple of years later, Court made history when she won the Australian, French, and US Opens while being a mom.
2. Evonne Goolagong Cawley
The second to do it was also an Australian great. Evonne Goolagong Cawley won two Grand Slams as a mother. Cawley, who gave birth to her first child in May 1977, won the Australian Open that year. Due to a schedule change, two Australian Opens took place in 1977 (one at the start of the year and the second in December, which Cawley won). She won her seventh and final Grand Slam tournament at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships.
3. Kim Clijsters
After Cawley’s 1980 Wimbledon triumph, it took nearly three decades before another mother stepped up. Kim Clijsters gave birth to her first child in February 2008, a baby daughter named Jada. She shocked the tennis world when she entered the 2009 US Open as a wild card and unranked, having competed in just two tournaments post maternity. She went on to win the tournament against all the odds. Clijsters returned to New York to complete a successful title defense in 2010 and won the 2011 Australian Open.
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