Timea Babos ready to take a break: "I want to start a family"... before a possible return for the 2028 Olympics?

At 31 years old, Timea Babos has revealed she wishes to put her career on hold. She mentions a break of one to two years, a possible return with a protected ranking, but also many questions regarding the compatibility between professional tennis and motherhood.

During a press conference organized by the Hungarian Tennis Federation, Timea Babos, a former world No. 1 in doubles, stated her desire to start a family and step away from tennis for a while.

"For now, I'm not certain if I will be able to participate in the Australian Open. I want to play there, but I don't just want to go: I want to find a partner with whom I can aim very far. After that, I'm almost sure I will take a step back from tennis.

I want to try other things for a year and a half, two years. My fiancé and I plan to start a family, and I would like to return with a protected ranking in 2028, in order to compete in the Los Angeles Olympic Games.

I haven't set a retirement age for myself: it will depend on how things evolve. There are still many questions: for example, whether the lifestyle of a tennis player is compatible with having a child, or if I will still enjoy all of this as much."

Babos recently reached the final of the WTA Finals in doubles, where she and her partner Luisa Stefani were defeated by Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens.

Throughout her career, the Hungarian has won four Grand Slam titles in doubles (two Australian Opens, two French Opens) with Kristina Mladenovic.

In singles, the Sopron native reached a career-high world No. 25 and won three titles (Monterrey 2012, Budapest 2017, and Taipei 2018).