KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Max Mirnyi, one of the top doubles players in tennis, encountered a scheduling crisis during a recent tournament in Long Island. He had to practice for a match, but he also had promised to accompany his 13-year-old daughter, Melanie, on an excursion that would require time and planning.
Mixing competition and parenting can be a complicated enterprise, especially in a sport like tennis that requires extensive international travel. Serena Williams, who now travels with her 7-month-old daughter, is learning this, just as players like Victoria Azarenka, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have done before her.