On the day that former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki announced her return to professional tennis after three years away from the game to start a family, Yanina Wickmayer delivered a timely reminder that motherhood is no barrier to success in the sport.

The former world No. 12, who gave birth to daughter Luana in April 2021, qualified for Wimbledon for a second year in a row in Roehampton on Thursday, defeating Arianne Hartono, Elena Gabriela Ruse and Laura Siegemund to secure just her second appearance at SW19 – and at a Grand Slam – since the 2020 US Open.

It is the latest milestone for the Belgian in a hugely impressive comeback year. She has collected titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour at W100 Surbiton, W100 Trnava and W40 Tallinn, and rocketed over 200 places in the WTA Rankings to sit just outside the Top 100.

“It’s been a really special journey to comeback [after childbirth],” she told itftennis.com this week. “I’m really enjoying my time and the challenge I set myself.

“You see things differently [as a mum],” she continued. “Becoming a mum gives you this strength… we become very strong women as mums. That has definitely helped me fight through some tough matches, and tough moments along the way. I’m definitely not giving up when things are not going my way.

“When I’m on the court I still feel the same, but I guess when things didn’t go well that day I can forget easier and it doesn’t take me down as much as it used to do before. I guess it takes less energy mentally. The ups and downs are less. It helps.”

"We become very strong women as mums. That has definitely helped me fight through some tough matches, and tough moments"

Never mind the physical impact on the body in carting around another human for nine months, the sleepless nights that follow and the arduous toil of getting match-fit again, there are also the logistics to consider.

And life on the professional tennis tour with a dependant in tow must be quite the juggle in a notoriously single-minded sport?

“Well, it definitely is,” admitted Wickmayer. “My husband and I decided not to travel too much with [Luana] while she’s not big enough. She has been home quite a lot so far, but I think from now on she might be travelling a little bit more. It’s definitely a challenge. It doesn’t make it easier, but it makes it more fun for sure.”

Now 33, Wickmayer has already more than proved her mettle as a tennis player, reaching the US Open semi-finals as a teenager in 2009 and going on to amass 20 professional singles titles – including five on the WTA Tour. Her return to the game is driven by her love of the sport, rather than a need to attain a specific goal.

"I’m almost 34. I’m just doing it for myself and my family. It's not like I need to prove to the tennis world that I can become something"

“I feel like there is less pressure on my shoulders this time around,” she said. “I feel like I don’t have to prove anything anymore.

“I’m almost 34. I’m just doing it for myself and my family. It's not like I need to prove to the tennis world that I can become something. I’ve been there and done that. It’s actually a different kind of pressure now. I’m just playing because I really want to play myself.

“When you’re younger you feel like you have to prove yourself. Your parents are there, people are always putting pressure on you. Now I don’t really have that. If I decide to stop tomorrow then it’s all good and it’s all fine. It changes your perspective a little bit.”

Wickmayer has plenty of inspiration in the form of countrywoman Kim Clijsters, who won three Grand Slam titles after giving birth to her first child Jada in 2008. But while she has taken advice from the Belgian great, juggling motherhood and sporting excellence isn’t the rarity it once was.

"When people look at me now I feel like they see the person behind the tennis player more than they used to before"

Elina Svitolina, Victoria Azarenka, Taylor Townsend, Tatjana Maria and (soon enough) Wozniacki, are just a few high-profile mums competing at the upper end of the tour.

“There are a lot more [mums on tour] these days,” Wickmayer agreed. “I feel like women feel more comfortable coming back afterwards because a lot of them have proven before us that it’s possible.

“There have been so many amazing mums on tour that have achieved amazing things. It’s different for everyone, and I think every mum deals with and handles the challenges differently. Every kid has its own challenges, every mum has its own challenges. I feel like it’s a very individual journey.”

Wickmayer, who has won 38 of the 49 matches she has contested in 2023 and is the only player to have won two W100 titles (the ITF Tour's highest-level), is particularly appreciative of how the tennis community has responded to her return to the tour as a parent.

“It’s a different kind of respect that you get,” she said. “People appreciate me more now because of what I’m doing as a mum. It sounds crazy because it shouldn’t be different, but it is different. When people look at me now I feel like they see the person behind the tennis player more than they used to before.

“That’s something I really like, because it’s not only about playing tennis. It’s about being a good person, being a good mum. Trying to do all those things at once is tough but it’s a really nice journey to be on to be honest.”