American Taylor Townsend, 24, announces her pregnancy
24-year-old American Taylor Townsend has announced her pregnancy as well as her desire to return to tennis after she becomes a mother.
Taylor Townsend 2019 US Open
Taylor Townsend is going to become a mother. The American, currently ranked 90th in the world, broke the news on her social channels on Wednesday.
“Life has a funny way of putting you exactly where you are supposed to be. I’m so excited to embark on the journey of motherhood!!” The Chicago native posted on her Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGUo8dSgVgR/
Towsend’s baby is due in March, and she plans to resume her career once she is ready to return.
The American, who turned in a career-best round of 16 performance at the US Open last year, has climbed as high as 61 in the WTA rankings. She posted an emotional, two-minute video on her Instagram, detailing the many obstacles she has had to overcome during her career.
Famously, Townsend was told by the USTA that she would not be offered a wild card into either the main draw or qualifying at the 2012 US Open. At the time she was 16, and the No 1 junior player in the world. This was due to the fact that she was deemed to be overweight by the USTA’s Player Development team.
At the time, the USTA even refused to pay Townsend’s travel expenses, but she made her way to New York independently and reached the quarter-finals of the Girls’ Singles tournament.
“With all the media attention and everything, I got a chip on my shoulder,” Townsend would later say. “I was thinking, ‘Oh, I’m not overweight, I can play.’ It was just a lot of stuff thrown at me. I handled it as best I could.”
Townsend has proven her talents at many junctures of her career, but her second-round win over Simona Halep at the 2019 US Open and resulting round of 16 appearance remains her best moment on the singles court.
“My entire life, my entire career, I’ve heard ‘You can’t. You won’t,’ and I’ve used it as a reason to fight hard, and as motivation to keep playing,” Townsend said in the video. “I’m sure this won’t be any different, so I’ll have to prove them all wrong again.
“Because now I have the best reason ever to play. You might think what I’ve done so far is impressive, but just wait until you see what I do next.”
