CNN
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Two-time grand slam champion Victoria Azarenka has told CNN Sport that a landmark maternity fund created for professional women’s tennis players is a game-changing moment for the sport.
The first-of-its-kind initiative provides eligible WTA players with the financial support and comprehensive resources to start or expand their families, according to the tennis body.
Fully funded by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), players will receive paid maternity and parental support for the first time, as well as grants for egg and embryo freezing and IVF treatment.
“It’s a very global conversation, much bigger than just sport,” says Azarenka, a WTA players’ council representative who has been at the forefront of the discussion.
“It’s such an important topic in all walks of life, people have families, and I think that it’s a very important conversation to continue to bring to the table.”
The initiative has personal meaning for the former world No. 1.
Having lifted back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2012 and 2013, Azarenka gave birth to son Leo in December 2016 but says there was no maternity leave policy in place at the time. That led her to question her career in the game – and she wasn’t the only one.
Serena Williams also experienced the limitations of the system for returning mothers following the birth of her daughter, Olympia, in September 2017.
“When I became pregnant with my son, it was a conversation about: am I going to be coming back to the tour or not?” Azarenka recalls. “I had doubts right away. I was also scared … I was top five in the world at the time.
“It was an interesting way for me to find out that we didn’t really have any rules even in our organization to address maternity leave.”
It wasn’t until 2019 that the WTA gave increased protection for returning mothers on the tour, specifically with a change in the protective ranking system.
The rule change has allowed returning players to compete in a certain number of tournaments based on the ranking they held before going on maternity leave for a period of up to three years.
According to the WTA, 50 players have already benefited since its introduction.
“I feel like me and Serena broke the stereotype that in tennis it’s going to be possible and that’s what we’re so proud to do,” Azarenka explains.
“I wanted to make sure that all of our other athletes feel the same way as well as that. Not everybody has the financial opportunity to stop playing and not have any income so that was a very big project of mine.
“I really believe that helping other people, helping our sport grow is something that gives me a lot of pleasure, a lot of pride, probably more than my own winnings (and) I do believe this is a very life-changing program.”
The launch of the fund is the latest significant move following the multi-year partnership signed by the WTA with PIF in May 2024.
This was part of Saudi Arabia’s wider plan to invest in tennis, which has been the subject of criticism from some of the sport’s leading figures. Legendary players Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, for instance, have described hosting the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia as a “step backward,” expressing concerns about the kingdom’s record on women’s rights, human rights and LGBTQ rights.
Despite such criticism, Azarenka is confident that the intentions behind the initiative are the right ones.
“I’ve personally not been there, so I cannot judge without seeing with my own eyes,” the 35-year-old says. “I am very appreciative that they saw the vision (and) I think it’s a big testament that … they were the ones who really wanted to support that and want to continue to grow that.”
And it’s not just existing moms on tour that she believes could stand to benefit from the fund: A whole new generation of players will be empowered to not have to choose between peak performance and future family planning.
“We have full (and) non-full members covered, which is very unprecedented in sports,” she says.
“A lot of players (will) see these opportunities like, ‘Hey, maybe we actually can prolong our careers, and we can have families,’ and it’s almost like a two-phase way you can look at your career: before family and then you have family and you continue your career.”
Azarenka sees the fund as “just the beginning” for what she hopes will open up even more benefits, opportunities and conversations in other areas of the women’s game, including childcare and healthcare services.
“It’s important to create just a little bit of an ecosystem that is part of the healthcare, part of financial support, part of childcare services, so how we can navigate that we need,” she says.
“(We also need) people who are willing to look for outside of the boxes for the opportunities and to create those programs.”
Grand slam champion moms
Indeed, a growing number of returning champion moms are creating that very path for the new generation to follow suit.
Former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki and two-time grand slam winner Naomi Osaka have returned to the fold alongside Azarenka, while Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic have recorded notable wins as mothers on the WTA Tour.
And while Belgium’s Kim Clijsters remains the only player to have won a grand slam singles title as a mother – the 2011 Australian Open – Azarenka hopes it’s not too long before that changes.
Serena Williams notably reached four grand slams singles finals but on each occasion narrowly missed out on capturing a record-equaling 24th major, while Azarenka herself reached the US Open final in 2020.
“I’m extremely happy for all the young moms, new moms when they come out and succeed and just go out there and do their thing and represent our sport on such a global stage,” Azarenka says, smiling.
“There’s probably going to be more grand slam champions that are moms and I think that is amazing. I hope, of course, it’s going be me as a competitor. We had Serena be also very close to that. I was very close to that achievement.
“We’re still competitors, we want to make that happen, (and) I think it’s going be an incredible opportunity to see that happen.”
