The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has announced a parental leave program for the world’s top female tennis players.
The program, funded by the Saudi Arabian Government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), is the first of its kind for self-employed athletes.
The WTA hopes the program will help “address some of the challenges faced by female athletes”.
Program
The program will include up to 12 months of maternity leave and access to fertility treatments.
The WTA has not publicised how much the players will be paid.
To be eligible, players must have competed in a set number of ‘WTA250’ events in the previous years. At these events, the winner is awarded 250 points towards their world ranking. For comparison, the winner of a grand slam receives 2500 ranking points.
The WTA said about 320 players are currently eligible.
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The program also gives two months paid leave to any player who becomes a parent through partner pregnancy, surrogacy, or adoption.
A previous WTA policy allows players to return to the ranking they had before they went on maternity leave, if they come back within three years.
World no.35 Victoria Azarenka, who sits on the WTA’s Player’s Council, 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.”
Criticism
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made significant investments in sports, e.g. funding the LIV golf league, and hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Critics have labelled the country’s efforts as sportswashing — attempting to distract from its human rights and women’s rights record with sporting events and funding.
