This year’s International Women’s Day will be special for women tennis players. For the first time, female tennis players will receive paid maternity leave on the WTA Tour.
The Women’s Tennis Association has announced that up to 12 months of paid leave will be granted through a new maternity fund introduced by the governing body in which more than 320 players will be eligible for the benefits.
The criteria for the eligibility for the maternity leave for WTA players are:
- Players should have played in a minimum of eight WTA tournaments, including Grand Slams, in the previous 12 months, with at least four at a 250 level or above,
- Or players should have played a minimum of 24 WTA tournaments over the previous 36 months, with at least 12 at the 250 level or above.
While the amount has not been disclosed yet, all the players will receive the same amount of payment irrespective of their rankings. Additionally, grants will also be made available for fertility treatment.
Furthermore, under the provision players will not have to repay the money if they later choose not to return to the sport.
The maternity scheme will be fully sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is a global partner of the WTA Tour.
In an interview, WTA CEO Portia Archer said that ever she took the charge in August, this initiative was a priority to her.
“This has been something that the players have advocated for a long time, well before me joining the WTA family eight months ago,” Archer said. “I have the good fortune of being able to participate in bringing the final stages across the line to fruition. But this is really a player-led initiative and something that they’ve advocated for and wanted the focus to be on for some time.
“I think it will really be transformational because it will give players the agency, the opportunity, the flexibility, the financial resources and the support to be able to decide when and how they want to build or extend their family.”
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Tennis players are actually independent contractors and not WTA employees, therefore there were no typical maternity leave benefits for them.
According to the WTA, there are currently 25 mothers on tour, including Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka, Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic, as Olympic gold medalist.
