The 2020 Tokyo Olympics brought much excitement on the basketball court, with standout performances and thrilling games. Among the athletes who made it all possible was basketball superstar Breanna Stewart. In addition to winning the gold medal, in a whirlwind transition, she swapped her basketball jersey for the mantle of motherhood, heading straight from the court to the hospital.
Immediately after her team clinched Olympic gold, Stewart was on a flight home to California. "I flew from Tokyo to Los Angeles and from LAX went straight to the hospital, basically," she says. This wasn't just for any routine check-up, though: Stewart and her wife, former WNBA player Marta Xargay Casademont, were awaiting the birth of their first child via surrogate.
That first child was a girl they named Ruby Mae, arriving just a day after Stewart's Olympic win. It was certainly a unique way to celebrate a major career achievement. Soon after, Stewart would find herself cast in the transformative role of motherhood, a journey that had begun in an unexpected way.
At 24, Stewart ruptured her Achilles. During this period of forced rest from her athletic pursuits, she received some advice from her agency. "Hey, have you ever thought about freezing your eggs?" With no imminent plans of having children, Stewart had the time available and went through the procedure. "I wasn't playing and looking back, it was one of the best decisions I've made," she recalls.
Stewart touched fame quite early, starting her professional career at the age of 22. She was the 2016 WNBA's first overall pick and earned herself the title of Rookie of the Year in the same season. Gradually, she became a vital player for her team, the Seattle Storm, and helped them clinch two championships.
In 2023, Stewart switched to the New York Liberty. It was during this time that she started navigating the path to parenthood. Using the eggs she frozen in 2019, Stewart, in partnership with Xargay Casademont, welcomed their first child, their daughter Ruby, via a surrogate in 2021.
Stewart was open about the reason for their decision to use surrogacy: "Neither Marta nor I were particularly ready to carry a baby, which is okay," she says. This decision also made sense as Marta was still playing professional basketball and had won a medal at the Olympics. Therefore, they decided to go with a surrogate for the birth of their first child, Ruby.
Selecting surrogacy offered her a unique perspective on the path to parenthood, and she recognised that she could inspire and support others by sharing her journey. She chose to be candid about the unconventional path to motherhood that included surrogacy and freezing her eggs during the downtime caused by a significant injury.
Stewart and Xargay Casademont welcomed their second baby, a son named Theo Josep, in October 2023. "We knew he was going to be big, just the genetics behind it," says Stewart. Ruby weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces at birth. However, Theo's weight turned out to be an even bigger surprise. "When the doctors said 'He's 11 pounds, 12 ounces,' we were like, 'What?'"
Now, as she trains for her third Olympic Games, Stewart finds herself in another role: an advocate for egg freezing. It is something she often discusses with the various people she meets. "I think it's really important for me to talk about my fertility journey because sometimes people aren't able to understand [that there are] other ways of family planning," she says.
Stewart's journey from the court to motherhood is indeed inspirational - a testament to her relentless spirit and adaptability. By sharing her experiences and busting the conventions surrounding motherhood, she continues to inspire and empower others grappling with their own fertility journey.
As a basketball superstar and a mother of two, Stewart has successfully managed to maintain the equilibrium of her personal and professional life. Her story is proof that motherhood and successful careers are not mutually exclusive, and women have the ability to carve both paths with determination, resilience, and strength.
For many aspiring athletes and women planning families, the road to motherhood looks different. But Stewart's journey offers comfort and evidence that it’s okay for plans to change and evolve. The decisions you make in your twenties can have a profound impact on your thirties and beyond, exactly as it happened in Stewart's case.
In conclusion, Stewart's openness about her personal experiences also helps to broadens the conversation about fertility. It echoes her belief that everyone's path to parenthood can be unique and worthwhile, no matter how unconventional it may seem.
Furthermore, it opens up discussions on the importance of family and work-life balance, especially when you are an athlete or professional personality. Stewart lives these values every day, managing her demanding career and the joys of motherhood, showing that it's indeed possible to excel in both.
This inspiring basketball superstar-turned-working mom continues to shatter both glass and backboards, showing that personal dreams and life goals can be harmoniously balanced. Stewart's story demonstrates that with proper planning and determination, women can make significant strides in every sphere of life without making unnecessary sacrifices.
It's a lesson worth learning for every aspiring athlete and woman: that unconventional paths can lead to extraordinary destinations, and sometimes, your greatest victory isn't on the playing field, but in the loving embrace of your family at home.
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