WTA players to receive maternity pay for first time

Female tennis players will receive paid maternity leave on the WTA Tour for the first time.

More than 320 players will be eligible for up to 12 months paid leave through a new maternity fund introduced by governing body, the Women’s Tennis Association.

Grants will also be made available for fertility treatment.

Players will need to compete in a minimum number of WTA tournaments over a certain period of time to be eligible.

The maternity programme will be fully funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is a global partner of the WTA Tour.

Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic have both made their comeback from maternity leave in recent months.

Former world number one Victoria Azarenka, who gave birth to son Leo in 2016, told the BBC last year that it would be a “huge win for women in general” if the WTA was to introduce maternity pay.

Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka also spoke in support of maternity pay, saying it would be “life-changing”.

“It can be challenging to balance the physical and emotional demands of a professional tennis career with the complexities of motherhood and family life”, WTA chief executive Portia Archer said.

Returning to the tour after maternity leave has become easier since the WTA changed the rules before the 2019 season.

New mothers are now be able to use their previous ranking to enter 12 tournaments over a three-year period from the birth of their child.

Since 2019, returning mothers with a special ranking high enough to be seeded have also had a guarantee they will not face a seeded player in the opening round of their first eight tournaments.

A seeding allows tournaments to ensure the world’s best players do not meet in the early stages of competitions and instead play lower-ranked players in the opening rounds.

The WTA says 50 players have benefitted from the special ranking since it was introduced six years ago.