Motherhood and Kim Clijsters' U.S. Open Victory

Salon.com: Did motherhood help Clijsters win?, by Vincent Rossmeier:

Research suggests women might actually become better athletes after giving birth

Every year on my birthday, after reminding me of the agonizing hours of labor pains she suffered through just to bring me into this world, my mother always tells me that being a mother prepares you for the most difficult jobs in the world.

I guess that includes tennis champion.

Sunday, Kim Clijsters capped off a remarkable comeback by winning the U.S. Open women's title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over the ninth-ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Though this was the 26-year-old Belgian’s second U.S. Open victory, this title was even more impressive than her 2005 triumph. Clijsters became the first unseeded woman to win the U.S. Open and her stunning victory came just 18 months after she gave birth to a daughter. Sunday also marked the first time since 1980 that a mother has won a major tennis tournament. But Clijsters’ recent motherhood may have actually helped her athletic prowess. . . .