Liliana Fernández is back to the World Tour after taking 2017 off to get pregnant. According to the player, it was perfect timing, as she was just coming out of having competed in her second Olympic Games. Now at 31 years old, and a mother to baby Saul, she is ready to resume her career. Although the Spaniard agrees that coming back to a high sport performance level is a gradual and difficult process, she stated that leaving her career was never an option, as her family was more than willing to make the adjustments needed to accommodate the needs of baby Saul into their busy lifestyle:
“I’m feeling better every week. When I came back it looked like everything was new again for me. I was feeling nervous as if I was a rookie. Now I got used to the routine again and I’m also in better shape. I’ve been working on my fitness with different techniques since the second month after Saul was born and that helped. My husband and his family help me a lot with him and my mother has also stayed with us for a while after he was born. But my training routine has not changed too much and in a big part that’s because Saul is a great baby and he behaves amazingly. He sleeps well, eats well and rarely cries. I can take him anywhere I go and I love it. My life is much better now because I have him. My husband was very supportive that I should continue my career after we had Saul. He never thought I should end my career when we became parents and I couldn’t do it without his help and support.”
Liliane started off by once again partnering up with Elsa Baquerizo in the Fort Lauderdale Major. She then played in 3 more tournaments before finally arriving at Itapema 4 star, where they defeated American teams of Kelly Larsen/Emily Stockman and Summer Ross/Sara Hughes, but fell to Brazilians Agatha Bednarczuk and Duda Lisboa in the Round of 16, finishing 9th.
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