Victoria Azarenka plays a backhand against Iga Swiatek of Poland in their second round match during day three of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, part of the Hologic WTA Tour at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium on February 18, 2025 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Christopher Pike | Getty Images
Big changes are coming to professional womenโs tennis.
The Womenโs Tennis Association and Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund have launched a new program to provide players with maternity and child family planning benefits, the organizations said on Thursday. Womenโs tennis is one of the last professional sports to provide these benefits โ and players have been asking.
As part of the program, eligible players will receive up to 12 months of paid maternity leave. Players will also have access to grants to cover fertility conception and egg freezing treatments. The WTA said the new policy will benefit 320 eligible players.
โThis initiative will provide the current and next generation of players the support and flexibility to explore family life, in whatever form they choose,โ Portia Archer, WTA CEO, said in a statement.
The PIF WTA maternity fund program is the first and only maternity program in womenโs sport to be fully funded and supported by an external partner, the WTA said. PIF declined to comment on how much it is contributing to this program, but the organizations said players will be compensated equally.
In May, the Saudi public investment fund and the WTA agreed to a multi-year partnership as Saudi Arabia looks to further its investment into sports. PIF also funds the LIV Golf league.
The partnership has drawn criticism from some current and former players due to Saudi Arabiaโs history of human rights abuses. The new policy could be an attempt by the PIF to show U.S. tennis fans that the Kingdom is changing.
โPIF partnerships are designed to elevate every level of sport and leave a legacy of transformative impact on a global scale,โ said Alanoud Althonayan, head of events and sponsorships at PIF, in a statement.
While the changes signal a positive step for womenโs tennis, the sport is following in the footsteps of other professional womenโs sports as maternity benefits have emerged as a key issue for players in recent years.
โThinking back about my experience in 2008 when I had my daughter, there was no support,โ said Kim Clijsters, former WTA No. 1 player and a PIF Ambassador, in a statement. โI think this is going to be a career changing opportunity for a lot of players.โ
The WNBAโs latest collective bargaining agreement with players guarantees women full pay during maternity leave. FIFA and the National Womenโs Soccer League also recently expanded their maternity benefits.
Thursdayโs announcement has been a long time coming for former top ranked star Victoria Azarenka. She has been advocating for maternity pay in tennis since giving birth to her son in 2016. Azarenka sits on the playersโ council advocating for increased benefits.
โThis 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,โ Azarenka said in a statement. โEnsuring that programs like this exist has been a personal mission of mine, and Iโm excited to see the lasting impact it will have for generations to come.โ