JORDANNE Whiley is enjoying every minute of motherhood but admits she cannot wait to be back on court later this year.
The 26-year-old wheelchair tennis star, who moved to Steventon last year, gave birth to a baby boy – Jackson – in January.
Whiley, a ten-time Grand Slam champion, has not hit a ball in anger since clinching her fourth Wimbledon doubles title 12 months ago.
The Birmingham-born player, who has brittle bone disease, remarkably triumphed at SW19 while 11 weeks pregnant.
And the sight of the Championships being played out at the All England Club over the last two weeks has got her dreaming of being back in action – and she has brought her return date forward by a month.
She said: “I love it (being a mother).
“I’m going to come back a bit earlier (than planned).
“My son starts nursery in August and I will hit my first ball in October.
“I’m really missing it. I only started missing it two months ago, but now I’m eager to get back.”
Whiley, who was ranked world No 3 in 2016, will train at the White Horse Leisure & Tennis Centre in Abingdon.
She will join the likes of Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka in returning to the sport after pregnancy.
The former was given a seeding for Wimbledon by the All England Club despite playing only three tournaments in the last year and being ranked world No 181.
Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, has since reached tomorrow’s ladies final where she will face Angelique Kerber and Whiley backed the decision.
She said: “Serena’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time and has won Wimbledon seven times.
“She has got herself back full-time on tour and Wimbledon seed how they see fit, not in line with the rankings.
“I’m all for it, she deserved a seeding.”
Whiley, who recently received funding from charity Path to Success, which supports women in disability sport, has set her sights on competing at Tokyo 2020.
She will need to be inside the top 22 in the world rankings to achieve direct qualification and is confident of reaching her third Paralympic Games.
Whiley said: “For someone to back me after a year out and having a baby is really quite special – it means a lot to me.
“Honestly, I think qualifying for Tokyo will be pretty straight forward.
“It will be difficult for me to get a seeding and it will be even more difficult for me to medal. But my goal is to come back with a singles medal.”
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