WTA To Give New Moms More Ranking Support

Returning moms will receive more ranking support from the WTA.After facing criticism from both current and former players over its maternity leave policy, the WTA will give returning moms some ranking protection.Watch: Tennis Couple’s Steamy AdPlayers returning from maternity leave or injury will be able to apply their previous ranking to enter 12 tournaments over a three-year period under the new rule, the BBC’s Russell Fuller reports.For some mothers who have already returned to action, including former world No. 1 players Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, the new rule may not go far enough.When Serena returned to action in Indian Wells in March after giving birth, world No. 1 Simona Halep said Williams should have been seeded first because she was world No. 1 when she took a break from tennis to give birth to her daughter.“I think she should have been actually No. 1 seed in this tournament because she left as No. 1 in the world,” said Halep. “And to give birth, it’s the best thing in the world. It’s more than a sport. So I think she should have been ranked as she left.“Not taking the ranking because she didn’t play tournaments, but just protected ranking for—I don’t know how many tournaments you have, like, eight. She could be the No. 1 seed for that, for those tournaments. This is my opinion.”

ESPN analyst and former world No. 4 Brad Gilbert blasted the WTA’s maternity policy as “an absolute joke” for creating an issue in the first place.“I blame the WTA. I think it’s an absolute joke what they’ve done,” Gilbert told Tennis Now in August. “They should be embarrassed. Injuries are different from somebody coming off of maternity leave. I think Serena should have come back, after her absence, with a protected ranking of number one. I felt like she should have come back for eight tournaments with a protected ranking and seeding ranking of number one.”Williams, who played the US Open for the first time since giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia in September, 2017, was ranked No. 26 and bumped up to No. 17 seed for her US Open return. Gilbert argues women returning from maternity leave should have a protected seeding based on their ranking when they left the Tour.“Not just Serena, whoever it is. Whenever you comeback after maternity leave if you were eight you should be eight,” Gilbert said. “If you were 15 then you should be 15. When Serena left the tour she was clearly one so that’s a rule [change] that hasn’t been done. And they need to do it because, like I said, it’s an absolute joke.”Under the new rule, women must begin their comeback within two years of departing the Tour in order to use their protected ranking for seeding purposes at 12 events, according to the BBC report.Photo credit: Serena Williams Instagram ]]>