Serena Williams admits her mind wandered to her child, Alexis Olympia, while she was playing her first match since becoming a mother, but was pleased to get back to the court for an exhibition match against Jelena Ostapenko in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

• WATCH Serena’s press conference here
• READ: Serena talks returning to the court after child birth

Serena, playing for the first time since her Australian Open title success 11 months ago, and less than four months since delivering her first child, lost a tight match to the current world No. 7, 6-2, 3-6, [10-5] in front of a buoyant Abu Dhabi crowd.

“Motherhood is phenomenal. I was a little worried out there and I looked at my camp and I was like ‘is Olympia okay?’. But it’s really good,” Serena said in her on-court interview.

“I’m excited, it’s good to be back on the court. This was such a good time for me.

“It’s my first time playing in Abu Dhabi so thank you guys for the support. First matches back are always super incredibly hard, especially after having a baby but it was great, I’m glad I could do it here.”

More from Serena here…