Players To Get Ranking Protection After Freezing Eggs

Female tennis players who wish to frost eggs aliases embryos, truthful they tin commencement a family astatine a later date, will person their ranking protected by nan WTA Tour.

The connection is unfastened to immoderate subordinate classed successful nan world's apical 750 who spends much than 10 weeks retired of competition.

The 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens says nan norm will trim nan unit connected players to return to nan tribunal excessively quickly.

The 32-year-old, who has won 8 WTA tournaments, told BBC Sport she has doubly antecedently utilized nan off-season to frost her eggs.

"The first clip I did it, I rushed backmost and I was overweight and not happy - and conscionable very stressed out," she said.

"The 2nd clip I did it I took a wholly different attack truthful I could conscionable beryllium successful amended shape: I could person nan surgery, I could person much clip to recover.

"So having nan protected ranking there, truthful that players don't consciousness forced to travel backmost early and consequence their wellness again, is nan champion point possible."

Players who acquisition fertility curen will beryllium capable to usage their typical ranking to participate up to 3 tournaments wrong 10 weeks of their return.

The typical ranking will beryllium an mean of a player's ranking complete a 12-week play earlier and during their leave.

Players will not, however, beryllium capable to usage this ranking to participate 1 of nan WTA's premier 1000 events, arsenic nan circuit wants to promote players to undertake nan process astatine a quieter clip of nan season.

"It's each proceedings and error, everyone's assemblage is different," Stephens added.

"Someone mightiness beryllium retired for 3 months, personification mightiness beryllium retired for 1 week.

"Some group summation a tonne of weight, immoderate group tin spell backmost immediately. I deliberation erstwhile you are family planning, it's amended if you person that support."

Stephens says she was a beardown advocator for specified a measurement erstwhile a personnel of nan WTA Players' Council, and nan tour's main executive Portia Archer confirms nan move was player-led.

"It was very overmuch astatine nan instigation of nan players," she said.

"We want to really thief players reside this conundrum wherever highest diversion capacity coincides pinch nan clip play of highest fertility, truthful players are often faced pinch this reliable prime of really to really maximise and optimise those years."

Grants person besides precocious been made disposable towards nan costs of immoderate fertility treatment, and earlier this twelvemonth nan WTA introduced paid maternity time off for nan first time.

More than 320 players are now eligible for up to 12 months paid time off - pinch everyone receiving nan aforesaid amount, irrespective of their ranking.

Returning to nan circuit aft maternity time off started to go easier erstwhile nan WTA changed nan rules earlier nan 2019 season.

New mothers are capable to usage their erstwhile ranking to participate 12 tournaments complete a three-year play from nan commencement of their child.

The WTA besides offers entree to a wellness team, which offers beingness assessments, intelligence wellness support and guidance connected a staged return to play for caller mothers and pregnant players.

Tennis is not nan first athletics to connection support to women wishing to frost their eggs, pinch nan American hoops convention nan WNBA offering up to $60,000 (£52,500) reimbursement to players for fertility curen including ovum freezing.

High-profile athletes person spoken astir their determination to frost their eggs, including England cricket skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt and erstwhile England netballer Geva Mentor.