Taylor Townsend is back on the court after a maternity break. Townsend reached her first singles  final in almost three years at the ITF tournament in Charleston. She will meet Xiyu Wang in the final. 

Townsend, who was once ranked as high as 61 in the world in singles, is now ranked outside the Top 1000. But since returning from her break, she has gotten better with every tournament.

Townsend’s best singles performance came at the 2019 US Open where she reached the fourth round. In 2020, she reached the women’s doubles semifinals at the US Open with Asia Muhammad. 

While she was on a maternity break, Townsend was a commentator for the Tennis Channel. She won accolades for the way she analyzed matches and many fans believed that she should get a commentary gig after retirement.

Bianca Andreescu volunteered at a domestic violence shelter while she was taking time off from tennis. Andreescu said that the stories she heard from women made her sad. But it also moved her closer to the cause and she hopes that she will be able to launcher her own initiative one day.

Recently, retired pro Pam Shriver discussed her relationship with her coach Don Candy. Shriver was only 17 when the relationship started. Candy was married at the time of the affair. Shriver’s relationship with Candy lasted 5 years and Shriver said she couldn’t find a way out of the relationship.

Domestic violence incidents rose during the pandemic as people were confined to their homes for almost two years. Some reports have pegged the increase at 30%.

Several tennis players have been accused of domestic violence in the last couple of years. Alexander Zverev allegedly physically and emotionally abused his former girlfriend Olya Sharypova. Seyboth Wild and Nikoloz Basilashvili have also been accused of abuse against their partners.