The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has entered into a historic partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to offer paid maternity leave for female players — a first in professional women’s sports.
More than 320 eligible players will stand to benefit from the two initiatives, which will provide up to 12 months of paid leave and fertility treatment grants through the PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program. Players are required to enter a minimum number of WTA tournaments in a given period of time to qualify.
Belinda Bencic, the Swiss Olympic gold medalist who returned to the tour after having a baby last April, welcomed the initiative. “It’s really the best news,” she said. “This will assist a huge volume of players, particularly those lower-ranked and with little financial means while they take time off.”
Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Grand Slam winner and WTA Players’ Council representative who is also a mother, called the change “a meaningful shift” in support of female athletes. WTA Chief Executive of the Women’s Tennis Association Portia Archer pointed out that “support and flexibility” the fund will offer for players who are balancing motherhood and their careers.
Saudi Arabia, which staged the 2023 WTA Finals in its capital, Riyadh, is one of the entities that have helped broaden tennis’s appeal and, it would argue, the player base through joint ventures and investments while also facing scrutiny for its human rights record. The WTA Finals will return to Riyadh in 2025 and 2026.
