INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — The WTA announced Thursday the creation of a first-of-its-kind maternity program in which eligible pregnant players can receive 12 months of paid maternity leave and those who become parents via partner pregnancy, surrogacy or adoption can receive a two-month leave.
The initiative, which is sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, also provides grants for fertility treatments, including egg freezing and IVF.
According to the WTA, 320 players are eligible to receive such benefits, which will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025.
In an interview at the BNP Paribas Open, WTA CEO Portia Archer said such an initiative had been a priority for her since she took over the role in August.
“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.”
Because tennis players are independent contractors and not WTA employees, they previously were not given many typical maternity leave benefits. Neither the WTA nor PIF would disclose specifics regarding how much money players would receive but did say payments would be made monthly. Players are eligible if they have competed 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 a minimum of 24 WTA tournaments over the previous 36 months, with at least 12 at the 250 level or above.
The WTA says there are currently 25 mothers on tour, including major champions Victoria Azarenka, Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic. Four-time Slam champion and former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters, who retired prior to the birth of her first child in 2008 before coming back to the sport, called Thursday’s announcement “exciting,” specifically for lower-ranked players who otherwise might not be able to afford to take the time away.
“I was in a very lucky, fortunate situation and had made enough money to say, ‘OK, I can take the time to take a break if I want to,'” Clijsters, who is an ambassador for PIF, told ESPN. “But a lot of players don’t have that luxury. So the fact that now I think 320 players will be eligible to use the program, I think is amazing. … I think having this financial support, the opportunity and just the ease of mind of not having to rush back, it will make a big difference.”
Clijsters, who is the most recent player to have won a major title after giving birth, added that she hopes another mother can hoist a major trophy as a result of this program.
“I don’t want to be the last one,” she said.
Archer credited the WTA Players’ Council, of which Azarenka is a member, for advocating for the issue, as well as PIF for supporting it. PIF became the WTA’s global partner in 2024, and Saudi Arabia now hosts the season-ending WTA Finals, as well as the ATP’s Next Gen Finals event, and sponsors the WTA and ATP rankings.
“It was a combination of player interest in this area, as voiced by the Players’ Council, and cultivating ideas around what that could look like, and our global partnership with PIF,” Archer said of how the initiative came to be. “We were able to collaborate about where in the partnership PIF could make the greatest impact, and they had a desire to be able to affect players at all levels of the game.”
Saudi Arabia continues to face criticism over the rights of women and people who are LGBTQ+ in the country. While it has enacted social reforms and denies abuses, human rights groups point to continuing discrimination, among other issues. Critics say Saudi Arabia has used PIF and its widespread investments in sports to engage in sportswashing and try to improve its reputation.
Asked what she would say to those who might be skeptical or critical of PIF’s involvement, Archer said she wasn’t sure she would say anything.
“But what I would say is this program is landmark and it’s really groundbreaking,” Archer said. “And it’s going to impact women at the WTA in ways seen and untold and unseen.”
She called the initiative “one of one so far” but added she hoped other professional leagues will follow suit or “enhance or expand” their current offerings for potential parents. She said there are no plans to offer daycare at tournaments and that the immediate focus will be on implementing the new program.
