Mamma Mia! Osaka, Kerber, Wozniacki among eight moms in the Australian Open draw

There are eight mothers in the main draw of the Australian Open this year, and it’s a star-studded line-up. Four of them are Grand Slam (and Australian Open) champions and former No. 1s, three more of them have been to major semifinals, and one of them is one of the best doubles players in the world at the moment.

Here’s a rundown of the mommy group, in order of ranking:

Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

A two-time Australian Open champion (2012 and 2013) and former No. 1, Azarenka had her son Leo in 2016 and returned to the tour in 2017, and is now the No. 1 mom on the tour at No. 22 on the WTA rankings. She’s also the most recent mom to reach a Grand Slam final, making it that far at the 2020 US Open, finishing runner-up to Naomi Osaka. She’s the No. 18 seed in Melbourne this fortnight.

Elina Svitolina (UKR)

After having her daughter Skai in 2022, Svitolina—a former No. 3—returned to the tour in 2023 and has played some of the best tennis of her career, reaching her third Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon and making it all the way back up to her current ranking of No. 23, which makes her the No. 2 mom on the tour at the moment. She’s the No. 19 seed at the Happy Slam this year.

Tatjana Maria (GER)

The first two-time mom on this list, Maria had her first daughter Charlotte in 2013 and her second daughter Cecilia in 2021, and she actually had the best Grand Slam result of her career after that, reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2022. She’s also won all three of her career WTA titles since becoming a mom. Currently ranked a career-high No. 42, she’s the No. 3 mom on tour right now.

Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)

Wickmayer is another one of the five moms in the Top 100 at the moment, currently ranked No. 68. Her best Grand Slam result was reaching the semifinals of the 2009 US Open, where she fell to Caroline Wozniacki, and she reached her career-high ranking of No. 12 in 2010. She had her daughter Luana in 2021, returned to the tour in 2022 and broke back into the Top 100 in 2023.

Taylor Townsend (USA)

At No. 80, Townsend is the fifth of five moms in the Top 100 at the moment—she had her son, Adyn, in 2021. She’s been one of the best doubles players in the world since coming back, highlighted by four WTA titles—including a WTA 1000 and three WTA 500s—and reaching her first two major finals at the 2022 US Open and 2023 Roland Garros. She also got up to No. 5 in doubles last year.

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

The second two-time mom on the list is Wozniacki, who had her daughter Olivia in 2021 and her son James in 2022. She’s a Grand Slam champion, winning the Australian Open in 2018, and a former No. 1. She returned to action last summer, and in her first major back as a mom she got all the way to the fourth round of the US Open, pushing eventual champion Coco Gauff to three sets.

Angelique Kerber (GER)

We round out our list with the two most recent returnees, starting with Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam champion—including in Australia in 2016—as well as a former No. 1. She had her daughter Liana in February 2023 and played her first tournament back just last week, helping Team Germany go all the way to the United Cup title. She reappeared on the WTA rankings this week at No. 657.

Naomi Osaka (JPN)

Osaka, who had her daughter Shai in July 2023, made her return last week as well, winning her comeback match in Brisbane before falling to Karolina Pliskova in a high-quality clash in the second round of the WTA 500 event—despite hitting 40 winners to 12 unforced errors. The four-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 reappeared on the WTA rankings at No. 833 this week.