Women's tennis players now eligible for paid maternity leave - ESPN

Pregnant players on the women's tennis tour now can receive 12 months of paid maternity leave, and those who become parents via partner pregnancy, surrogacy or adoption can get two months off with pay under a program sponsored by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and announced Thursday by the WTA.

«Independent contractors and self-employed individuals don't typically have these kinds of maternity benefits provided and available to them. They have to go out and sort of figure out those benefits for themselves,» WTA CEO Portia Archer said. «This is really sort of novel and groundbreaking.»

More than 300 players are eligible for the fund, which is retroactive to Jan. 1. The WTA would not disclose how much money is involved.

The program — which the WTA touted as «the first time in women's sports history that comprehensive maternity benefits are available to independent, self-employed athletes» — also provides grants for fertility treatments, including egg freezing and IVF.

Introducing the new PIF WTA Maternity Fund