Victoria Azarenka was a two-time Grand Slam singles champion and the No. 5-ranked player when she stepped away from tennis after the 2016 French Open. Pregnant with her first child, Azarenka began looking into the path that would lead to her return.
“There was no real structure,” she said recently from her home in South Florida. “I wondered what is the way forward? We really need to find a way to step up and make it easier and more comfortable for our players to become mothers and return to tennis.
“It’s been a long journey, for sure.”
With the creation of the PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program, Azarenka now has that guided path she has long advocated for as the chair of the WTA Players’ Council.
WTA and PIF create the PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program
On Thursday, it was announced that more than 320 Hologic WTA Tour players can access paid maternity leave for up to 12 months, paid parental leave for up to two months -- as well as grants for egg and embryo freezing and IVF treatment.
Developed in partnership with PIF, this pioneering initiative marks the first time in women’s sport that a comprehensive range of maternity benefits is being made available to independent, self-employed athletes.
A Global Partner of WTA since May 2024, PIF is the first-ever naming partner of the WTA Rankings, the highest official rankings for women’s professional tennis players. Through the partnership, PIF is committed to elevating every level of the game, opening new pathways and empowering current and future generations of women’s tennis players on a global scale.
“It was like, `How do we make it work? What are the rules?’” said Jessica Pegula, a Players’ Council member, after winning her second-round match last week at the ATX Open in Austin. “There’s so many moving parts to it, so much involved.
“It’s crazy that [this Fund] is actually going to be real. It’s super innovative, especially for women’s sports. It’s going to be a great thing.”
The stated goal of the PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program is to empower current and future generations of women tennis players, ensuring they have the support and flexibility to pursue professional careers and build families. The Fund is part of the WTA’s wider Family Focus Program which provides a range of benefits to players including ranking protection, mental health support, physical assessments and nutritional advice.
“It can be challenging to combine the physical and emotional demands of a professional tennis career with the complexities of motherhood and family life,” WTA CEO Portia Archer said. “I hope this initiative will provide the current and next generation of players the support and flexibility to explore family life, in whatever form they choose.”
Kim Clijsters was the most high-profile player to come back to tennis as a mother in recent years. She was already a Grand Slam singles champion when she gave birth to daughter Jada in 2008 -- and subsequently won three more majors. The past two years have seen a number of notable comebacks, including Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic and, just last week, Petra Kvitova.
But as Azarenka pointed out, she and those who followed were mostly at the elite end of the scale, athletes with millions in winnings who could afford the time off and the support system to enable a comeback. What about the rank-and-file players, Azarenka wondered?
“I come from a very difficult background,” she said, passion mounting in her voice. “But I’ve been fortunate to make a good living. And it crossed my mind, how is it for other players who are barely making ends meet? What is incredible about this program is that we’ve created an outlet for not only our full members but have an opportunity to involve our associate members, our lower-ranked players.”
Azarenka, a trailblazer, had no frame of reference when she came back in 2017. She had doubts about her ability to again achieve the elite level that led to Australian Open titles in 2012 and 2013. Breaking through the stereotype, she said, was the biggest challenge.
After missing four consecutive majors, she returned to Wimbledon in 2017 and reached the fourth round. In 2020, she was a US Open finalist and two years ago -- at the age of 33 -- Azarenka advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open. At the same time, her determined mission was to secure financial maternity support for her fellow players.
Said Azarenka: “The last couple of years I was like breaking that door -- `We need to have it, we need to have it.’ Every conversation, `We need to have it.’ I was like `I’m not going to leave tennis until this is in place.’ What is critical is that this was a player-led program.”
Another recent WTA Tour maternity development is extending the comeback window from two years to three.
“Because not everybody has the opportunity to play right away,” Azarenka said. “Not everybody has help. Physical conditioning can be challenging to regain, so I think it offers another level of opportunity for players. Although recently we’ve had some players come back after six months and play well -- that’s really remarkable -- I felt that it was very important to extend that break window, that players have more time if they need it.
“I think [motherhood] is the greatest thing in life and this gives players the opportunity and cushion in life that you don’t have to worry as much about financial difficulties.”
Pegula said she’s particularly excited about making grants available for a range of fertility protection measures.
“I just turned 31,” Pegula said, “and you have to start thinking about surrogates, IVF, freezing your eggs -- those are all really stressful. I don’t think people realize what goes into it. There’s a lot of steps, things that can go wrong, things that might not work. It’s expensive and time-consuming.
“I’m excited about getting this out there and having people say, ‘Oh, that’s an amazing initiative and more people should do it.’ Hopefully that will lead to education and discussion even outside the tennis world.
Ultimately, Azarenka said she’s proud that women will no longer have to choose between becoming a mother and playing professional tennis. Like the WTA advances in equal prize money, Azarenka hopes the initiative will have an impact beyond tennis.
“It’s very important how our sport develops,” she said. “I’ve always admired Billie Jean King and how much she’s done for our sport and always thought at some point we need to move that needle forward. For me, it’s an incredible honor that I get to bring my thoughts to the world of tennis.
“I’m incredibly proud of the progress we are making. But we always need to push for more.”
