In her early twenties and taking women’s basketball by storm, Australian Opal Abby Bishop had the whole world ahead of her. But then everything changed.
Two years ago, when Abby was at the peak of her career, her sister had a baby. For reasons that Abby has chosen not to reveal, within two days of the birth it was clear her sister was unable to care for her daughter.
At this point, Abby made the snap decision to take custody of the adorable little girl named Zala, and raise as her own – effectively becoming a single mum.
Abby and Zala representing in Seattle Storm’s colours.
“I’m not going to lie and say it was easy,” says Abby, who was playing for Canberra in the Women’s National Basketball League at the time. “I pretty much brought Zala home and started pre-season training with the Capitals straight away. It was tough having a little human with me 24/7.”
Now two, with her blonde hair and stunning blue eyes, little Zala appears for all the world to be Abby’s own daughter. But despite having a game plan for every second she spends on the basketball court, Abby, 26, still isn’t sure how she’ll tell Zala that she isn’t her biological mum.
“I’ll know how to do it when the time is right,” she tells News Ltd.
The pair are inseparable, with Abby often sharing heart-melting snaps of her little lookalike on Instagram. However, the 1.89m forward from Booleroo Centre in South Australia realised not long after having Zala in her life that competing at elite level for Australia was impossible.
Basketball Australia, while happy for Zala to travel with Abby, ruled that she would need to pay for flights, accommodation and childcare for her then seven-month-old. With female athletes already earning far less than their male counterparts, Abby is the first to admit she couldn’t afford it.
At the time, ahead of their World Championships bid in Turkey, she said, “The lack of support has led to the decision that I won’t be able to play for the Opals this year.”
The lookalike pair are inseparable.
While she missed out on another chance to represent the green and gold, the Canberra Capitals threw their full support behind Abby – and she’s also played in Hungary for a European League, and is currently dominating in America’s prestige Women’s National Basketball Association for the Seattle Storm.
“My European teams paid for my nanny’s flights and they had cots and car seats and toys and everything there,” she told the Daily Mail. “[And] I just can’t thank the Canberra Capitals enough for putting childcare in my contract.”
Abby says Seattle has also been supportive of her decision to take on Zala.
“The plane trips are always the tricky part because she’s so active, but in terms of being over there she loves it. Everyone loves her and treats her like she’s part of the team. She loves the attention!”
The Australian Opals would welcome Abby back for 2016 Olympic selection.
For now, Abby will continue juggling basketball with caring for her increasingly active toddler.
“Then obviously I’ll have to think about school, and where we want to settle,” she says. “It’s disappointing I can’t be with the Opals this year, but Zala comes first for me.”
For their part, Basketball Australia would love Abby to be a part of the Opals’ bid for gold at next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“Kids can come along, but those that need looking after need a caregiver and the athlete would have to fund that,” says high performance manager Chuck Harmison. “If we start opening up to the costs of caregivers, we would start running out of funds pretty quickly. If Abby follows the policy, we’ll have her back in a heartbeat.”
