Former world No. 1 Serena Williams missed the chance to win her 24th Grand Slam title.
She emerged as the big winner with her impressive run to the Wimbledon finals, however, 10 months after giving birth to her first child.
Williams missed her chance to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles after losing to former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-3 in Saturday's finals.
Serena Williams Aiming To Become 4th Mother To Win Grand Slam
Making it to the Wimbledon finals was far-fetched for Williams, who returned to competitive tennis less than six months after giving birth to Alexis Olympia on Sept. 1, 2017, her first child with husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
"I'm just me. That's all I can be," says Williams, who was trying to become the fourth mother to win a major title in the Open Era, behind Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Kim Clijsters.
"To all the moms out there, I was playing for you today, and I tried. Angelique played really well, played out of her mind," added Williams, who underwent struggles after delivering her first child via Caesarean section.
Williams announced her pregnancy on April 2017 after winning her 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January 2017. When she made the announcement, Williams was 20 weeks pregnant, meaning she won the Australian Open while expecting her first child.
After delivering her first child, Williams also had several health complications, including blood clots that forced her to undergo multiple operations.
The 36-year-old Williams was also forced to withdraw from the French Open in June before her fourth-round match against Maria Sharapova due to a right pectoral injury.
"I just like to tell all the moms, like, I had such a long struggle to come back, and it was really difficult. Honestly, I feel like if I can do it, they can do it," said Williams, who will move up to No. 28 in the WTA rankings from her former spot of No. 181.
Angelique Kerber Makes History With Wimbledon Win
The 30-year-old Kerber, for her part, became the first German to win Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1996.
Kerber made a breakthrough in 2016 when she won the US Open and the Australian Open, propelling her to the No. 1 position. However, Kerber struggled in 2017 as she failed to win a title, dropping him out of the top 10.
"I think I learned a lot from last year, with all the expectation, all the things I go through," says Kerber, who needs to win the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam. The win will propel Kerber to No. 4 in the WTA rankings.
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