Former professional player and ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert has said that the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ‘should be embarrassed’ over their treatment of players whilst they are on maternity.
In recent months there has been a debate about whether there should be a new rule in place to safeguard a players ranking whilst they take time away to give birth. The topic has been triggered by the return of Serena Williams in March. The 23-time grand slam champion took a year off to welcome the arrival of her first daughter. During that time she plummeted from No.1 in the world to 491st.
“I blame the WTA,” Gilbert stated during a conference call promoting ESPN’s upcoming coverage of the US Open. “I think it’s an absolute joke what they’ve done.”
“They should be embarrassed that they don’t have anything — injuries are different from somebody coming off of maternity leave.”
“I think that she should have come back after her absence with the protected ranking of No. 1.”
Gilbert, who is a former world No.4 and ex-coach of Andre Agassi, continued his criticism by saying he didn’t understand why the WTA hasn’t addressed the issue. Whilst on maternity, players do not have their ranking protected. Two grand slams have made a special exemption in their seeding system to place Williams higher in the draw than her current ranking. At next week’s US Open, the 36-year-old will be seeded 17th. Nine places higher than her world ranking.
“I will put the distinction, an injury is different, because in work, if you’re having a baby, they make provisions for when you have a baby and you come back,” Gilbert said.
“I don’t understand why the women’s association doesn’t draw a distinction between being injured and having a baby. It is something that really needs to be looked at a lot closer for this to happen in the future.”
It is understood that talks have been conducted on the subject of maternity leave on the women’s tour. Victoria Azarenka spent almost 13 months away from the sport between 2016-2017 as she gave birth to her first child. Azarenka is a member of the player council.
“I think it’s an important conversation that has been started. This conversation has led to numerous meetings, numerous occasions where we are discussing the rules and how can we be a leader in sports to have the best maternity policy for not — I don’t think just women, but I think all sports. And that conversation is ongoing.” She told The Independent during the Wimbledon Championships.
The US Open will get underway on Monday.
