WTA helps female tennis players: family life and career combined!

WTA helps female tennis players: family life and career combined!

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) recently introduced a new rule that is intended to make it easier for professional players to successfully combine family and career. This measure comes at a time when the issue of family planning is becoming increasingly important for many female athletes. 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens has spoken out about the challenges of balancing family life and sporting careers for women in tennis.

The WTA rule allows players who have to take a break due to fertility treatments such as freezing of eggs or embryos to use their frozen ranking position (Protected Ranking) for up to three tournaments upon their return. This is intended to reduce the pressure of having to immediately return to the highest performance classes after a break. The rule also applies to pregnant players, who are also able to use this classification.

Support through financial measures

Another important aspect of this WTA initiative is paid maternity leave, which the WTA introduced in March 2023. This maternity leave offers players financial support during pregnancy and after returning to sport. Combining three tournaments with a protected ranking option also allows players to continue their careers without unnecessary worries about their ranking.

In addition to these measures, players are offered access to fertility programs to support and facilitate family planning. Through these comprehensive regulations, the WTA wants to make a positive contribution to an issue that is of crucial importance to many players.

The new regulations and programs are a significant step towards equality in sport as they enable female players to better balance their career and family goals. According to Sloane Stephens, this issue is essential because it reflects the complexity of decision-making and societal expectations of women in professional sports.

Overall, with these new regulations, the WTA offers an advanced approach to supporting female tennis players in their family planning, which represents a positive development for the future of women's tennis. The reactions to this regulation have been consistently positive, as it breaks down an important barrier for many athletes.

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