Bassett-Seguso a perfect choice for month for moms

Carling Bassett-Seguso loaded up the family car and headed for Athens, Ga., this past week to watch two of her children play in the NCAA tennis championships.

Eight hundred miles or so is nothing when there is the chance to watch son Holden and daughter Carling compete for UCLA in tennis. But this trip was extra special.

Joining Carling on the trip were her mother Susan Bassett-Klauber, her husband, Robert Seguso ... and daughter, Lennon Shy Charlotte Seguso.

"It was wonderful," Bassett-Seguso said. A true family affair. Mom and dad got to watch her two oldest children play tennis, and Holden and Carling Seguso got to officially meet their new little sister.

"Omigod, it was amazing," Bassett-Seguso said. "Carling was just beside herself. She was with Lennon every spare second."

It was a mother moment.

The United States Tennis Association deemed May tennis month and celebrated "moms" for all they do for the game. The national governing body of the game spotlighted a tennis mother throughout the month.

Few deserve the title of tennis mom more than Carling Bassett-Seguso. She spent her life on the court, first as a player, then as a coach for her three children -- 22-year-old Holden, Carling (19) and Ridley (16).

"I would be on the court 5:30, 6:30 a.m.," Seguso-Bassett says. She pushed, sometimes so hard that her children rebelled. But those three have grown into not only gifted tennis players but also well-rounded individuals who have displayed talent in other areas.

"I am so proud of them." she says. "It is such a joy."

Now, at age 42, Carling Bassett-Seguso has a month-old daughter she calls her miracle baby. There are no tennis plans ... yet.

"I am just happy that she is healthy," she says. "She is such a wonderful addition for everybody."

After years of trying, and three miscarriages along the way, the ultimate tennis mother brought a new potential tennis player into the family. With the other three, there were times when Carling admits she came close to crossing the line as a tennis mother. This time, Bassett-Seguso swears she has a different perspective.

"I wouldn't do things the same way," she says about the way she drove her children, much the same way her father, John Bassett, drove her. "You give up your whole life, basically."

Carling was born into renowned Canadian families. Her mother's family founded Carling brewing company. Her father's family was prominent in politics, media and sports franchises.

Darling Carling, as she was called, was delivered to Nick Bollettieri's doorstep at the age of 12 and became one of the tennis coach's first students at what became his famous academy.

She had this air about her, even before she reached her teen years, an aura that commanded attention. By the age of 14 starred in a movie -- about a young tennis player -- that also featured Jessica Walter, Susan Anton and Frank Converse.

By 15 she was modeling and also had her sights set on professional tennis. She was the Anna Kournikova of her generation ... except that she won titles at the pro level.

At 16, she took Chris Evert to 7-5 in the third set in the WTA Championships and won her first pro title. In 1984, at the age of 17, she was ranked No. 8 in the world and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open before losing to Evert.

She won her second singles title at Strasbourg in 1987.

But there were also demons. She battled bulimia for several years while playing on tour.

But her life once again began to take a positive turn when she married Robert Seguso, one of the game's top doubles players, in 1987. Seguso's laid-back style was a balance Carling needed.

A year later Holden was born. Weeks later Bassett-Seguso returned to the court.

"You have to be young and you have to have a strong body," she said about playing tennis as a mother. "Your tennis memory comes right back, but you need help with all the other things and I had a lot of help."

Though she lost some of her passion for the game after the death of her father in 1986, Bassett-Seguso was still playing professionally following the birth of her daughter, Carling.

The family eventually settled on Florida's East Coast and helped build a tennis academy. They moved to Bradenton about eight years ago, moving onto the grounds of the IMG Academies and Carling continued to coach her children.

Several years ago, she decided she wanted another child. She lost three, carrying one for four months.

"The one was particularly devastating. Four months is a long time," she said. "I spiraled emotionally."

The couple was close to making a decision to adopt, not knowing Carling was already pregnant with Lennon.

Bassett-Seguso had gotten into the habit of taking a monthly pregnancy test and when one came back positive while she was in Los Angeles with her two oldest children she was not convinced.

"I thought, 'Well, I got the test from Big Lots and they get the cheap ones.'"

So she went back and bought four more of the dollar kits. They all came out positive.

And she couldn't be more blessed.

"I can attest that Carling is an indomitable, competitive, courageous, shining spirit living within a body that so loves all mankind," said her mother, Susan Bassett-Klauber. "Having newborn Lennon Shy Charlotte is to her a gift from God."