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The WTA will now protect the ranking of tennis women who take the time of competition to undergo fertility protection procedures, the tour announced on Wednesday.
The measure directed by the players will allow tennis players to use a special entry ranking (SER) for up to three tournaments if they choose to undergo a “Fertility protection procedure like freezing eggs or embryos. “”
A shadow of a player at the French Open in Paris. (istock)
“By introducing this new form of classification protection, the WTA helps to support and allow female athletes to balance a professional sports career with planning and starting a family at a time of their choice,” the tour in a press release on Wednesday.
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The new measurement is added to the WTA family concentration program, which already includes classification protection during pregnancies or other means of parenting and postpartum support. It also follows the WTA announcement in March that tennis players on tour can receive 12 months of maternity leave paid.
“I am incredibly proud of our sport by recognizing the importance of fertility treatments for female athletes”, 2017 We open Champion Sloane Stephens said in a statement provided by the tour.
Sloane Stephens returns a ball to greet Minnen (not illustrated) during the first round at Sobeys Stadium on August 6, 2024. (John E. Sokolowski / USA Today Sports)
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“For any woman, the conversation of family life against a career is nuanced and complex. The WTA has now created a safe space for the players to explore the options and make the best decisions for themselves. It is really revolutionary and will allow this generation and future generations of players, to continue with the sport they like without compromising.”
Talk to BBC, Stephens explained her own experiences and the challenges she was confronted under previous rules.
“The first time I did it, I rushed back, and I was overweight and not happy and very stressed,” she said at the point of sale. “The second time I did, I adopted a totally different approach so that I can be in better shape. I could undergo the operation. I could have more time to recover.
The WTA Tour on the net at the Open of Mutua Madrid at Caja Magica on April 23, 2025, in Madrid, Spain. (Robert Prange / Getty images)
“Having the classification protected there, so that players do not feel obliged to come back early and risk their health, is the best possible thing.”
The SER will be based on the 12 -week average of the player’s WTA ranking compared to eight weeks before the start of his period outside the competition.
