Paid maternity leave is music to a women’s ear. It will now sound doubly sweet for female tennis players on tour, who will now get paid maternity leave of 12 months, the WTA announced.
The programme sponsored by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia will also extend to those who become parents via partner pregnancy, surrogacy or adoption, with a paid leave of two months. Independent, self-employed athletes too would be given the fund for fertility treatments, including egg freezing and IVF.
“This is really sort of novel and groundbreaking,” WTA CEO Portia Archer said while announcing the programme, for which more than 300 players would be eligible. The WTA, however, did not disclose the amount.
The number of women tennis players returning to action has been increasing, with the WTA putting the number of mothers currently on the tennis tour at 25, including Belinda Bencic, who won a title last month after returning from maternity leave in October last year. There have been other Grand Slam title-winning mothers such as Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka.
The WTA Players' Council played a key role in pushing for the grant.
What is Saudi Arabia 's role in tennis?
The PIF became the WTA's global partner last year, despite criticism from tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova over LGBTQ+ and women's rights concerns in Saudi Arabia. The PIF also sponsors the WTA and ATP rankings.
Saudi Arabia hosts the season-ending WTA Finals and an ATP event for rising stars of men's tennis.
A look at maternity policies in other sports
In football, the NWSL and the US women's national team allow pregnancy leave and parental leave. In fact, the NWSL pays the full basic pay while an athlete is pregnant.
In golf, according to the LPGA’s updated maternity leave policy in 2019, athletes will have the same playing status when they return.
In basketball, the WNBA gives paid maternity leave.
