Female tennis players will receive paid maternity leave on the WTA Tour for the first time, as part of a new family benefits programme sponsored by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
According to the WTA, players will have access to grants for fertility treatment and other benefits, making it the first time that maternity benefits are available to self-employed athletes.
Players will need to participate in a minimum number of WTA tournaments over a certain period of time to be eligible for the allowance.
The maternity programme will be fully funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is a global partner of the WTA Tour.
WTA CEO, Portia Archer confirmed the development in a statement on Thursday.
He said: “It can be challenging to balance the physical and emotional demands of a professional tennis career with the complexities of motherhood and family life.
“For some time, we have been exploring how we can increase our support for players to help them become parents at a time of their choice.”
WTA Council Representative, Victoria Azarenka is expecting the programme to have a lasting impact on women in Tennis.
She said: “This marks the beginning of a meaningful shift in how we support women in tennis, making it easier for athletes to pursue both their careers and their aspirations of starting a family.”
In 2019, The WTA changed the rules to allow new mothers to be able to use their previous ranking to enter 12 tournaments over a three-year period from the birth of their child.
The rules also allow 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.
More than 320 players will be eligible for up to 12 months paid leave under the new maternity rules.
