As an armchair watcher of elite tennis for longer than I care to calculate, I have marvelled from time to time at how the likes of Margaret Smith Court, Yvonne Goolagong Cawley and more recently Victoria Azarenka have returned to the arena as strong if not stronger after having given birth. Now an article in last Saturday's i has given an explanation. Magda Eriksson, the captain of Chelsea's women's team writes about team-mate Melanie Leupolz:
Melanie has surprised herself with her physical condition since coming back at the end of November. [She] is not the first team-mate I have seen bounce back after having a baby A couple of years ago my Sweden colleague Elin Rubensson recorded her best sprint test speed six months after giving birth.
I am fascinated by this and Georgie [Bruinvels, head of performance] at the club explained to me this week that during pregnancy, a woman's heart rate and the oxygen-carrying capacity in her blood increases - after all, her heart has to pump for two. For athletes who continue to train during pregnancy these benefits can last longer then the usual six to 12 weeks after giving birth and bring performance improvements.
It therefore seems all the more mean of the Lyon management to stop paying Sara Björk after she got pregnant, the story that inspired Ms Eriksson's article. Thankfully, the Iceland captain won her case when she took her club to court.
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