WTA

Protection For Mothers, New Clothing Policy And Less Toilet Breaks: WTA Outline Changes For 2019

The governing body of the women’s tour will implement a series of new policies on the tour for the new season.

Published

5 years ago

18/12/2018

Players will be allowed up to three years to use their protected ranking after they have given birth in a move to help those that have taken a break from the sport for family reasons.

In an amendment to the Special Ranking rule, players now have three years to return from the date of the birth of their child. The rule also applies to players that have a medical condition. Those who have taken time away from the sport for reasons related to adoption, surrogacy or legal guardianship have a two-year period.

The change to the rules follows the return of Serena Williams in March. The 23-time grand slam champion gave birth to her first child in September 2017 and was unseeded at numerous tournaments during her comeback. Climbing from 491st in the world to back inside the top 20 within the past nine months. Supporters said the American should have had her ranking and seeding in tournaments protected.

“Our players should feel comfortable and confident to take time away from the courts to have a family or recover from injury and I think these new rules support that,” WTA Players’ Council member Victoria Azarenka said in a statement.
“This is a really good first step and we are using it as a base to continue to look for ways to improve and highlight the importance of mothers working and being on Tour.”

Another change is a greater clarification of the clothing policy. The WTA has concluded that leggings and compression shorts can be worn ‘with or without a skirt, shorts, or dress.‘ There had previously been no specific rule concerning this attire, however, the controversy of Williams’ catsuit at the French Open had prompted a review. The head of the French Tennis Federation, Bernard Giudicelli, said the outfit would be banned in future tournaments. Despite Williams saying that she was wearing it for health reasons.

“It will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and the place.” Said Giudicelli.

Despite the new policy on the WTA Tour, the French Open has a separate rule book they follow. Meaning that Williams’ outfit could still be banned at Roland Garros next year.

The 25 second clock will become a permanent fixture on the tour. The clock is used for players to monitor how long they take between points with the goal of speeding up matches. The shot clock will be used at all Premier events in 2019 before being applied to all WTA tournaments in 2020. The warm-up of matches will also be restricted. Once players walk onto the court they have one minute to get to the net, followed by a five-minute warm-up and one minute after to start play.

In other developments, one toilet break/change of attire will be allowed per match. The previous policy was two changes. Finally, players who reach 10 years service on the tour are allowed three additional wildcards to bring their total to nine. However, they must play at least six tournaments in a year for it to count towards the 10 year service rule.

Latest news

Emma Raducanu Confident Of Full Fitness Ahead Of Grass Swing

Published

5 days ago

11/06/2024

Adam Addicott

Emma Raducanu - Cincinnati 2022 (foto Twitter @cincytennis)

Emma Raducanu has no regrets about her decision to skip the French Open and now believes she is in a ‘really fit place’ ahead of Wimbledon.

The former US Open champion opted to end her clay season earlier than other players to focus on fitness and training with her coach. Raducanu stated earlier this year that her primary focus in 2024 is on her health after undergoing a series of wrist and ankle surgeries last year which sidelined her for months.

Raducanu will return to action this week at the Nottingham Open, which is the event where she made her WTA main draw debut back in 2021. Despite her lack of match play in recent weeks, the Brit is feeling good and relishing her return to the grass.

“Body-wise, physical-wise, I feel really healthy,” she said on Monday.
“I’ve done amazing work with my trainer over the last few months, since surgery. I’m in a really fit place. I’m healthy and just looking forward to starting playing.”

Shedding more light on her health, Raducanu says she has full confidence in her wrists and believes they are in top condition. Making her feel more at ease when playing matches on the Tour.

“I think my wrists are actually in a better position than they ever were. So there’s zero doubt or apprehension whether I’m hitting the ball or designing my schedule,” she explained.
“It’s more about being proactive and not wanting to put yourself in any unnecessary situations. I don’t need to rush and try to win the French Open, it wasn’t my goal this year.
“I had to prioritise where I wanted to target and it was just a good block for me to get some physical work done.”

Raducanu has played seven WTA events so far this season with her best run being to the quarter-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she was beaten by world No.1 Iga Swiatek. The 21-year-old is currently ranked 209th in the world.

At the Nottingham Open, she will play her first match on Tuesday against Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara.

Latest news

Russian World No.78 Elina Avanesyan To Switch Nationalities

Published

6 days ago

10/06/2024

Adam Addicott

Image via https://x.com/WTAMeridaOpen/

A week after losing her fourth round match at the French Open, a government minister has confirmed that Elina Avanesyan is in the process of changing the nationality of who she plays for.

The 21-year-old is switching her aligence from Russia to Armenia, according to Armenia’s deputy Minister of International Affairs and communication. Karen Giloyan has told the news agency Armenpress that Avanesyan will soon be representing his country. However, the tennis player has yet to comment on the matter. Avanesyan was born in Russia but has Armenian parents.

“Elina Avanesyan will compete under the Armenian flag, but there is nothing official yet. We are waiting for her to get the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia so that everything will be official,” Giloyan told Armenpress.

Such a development would be a massive coup for the Armenian tennis federation which currently doesn’t have a player ranked inside the top 500 on either the men’s or women’s Tour. The country has a population of less than 3M. Perhaps their best-known player is Sargis Sargsian who reached the top 40 back in 2004. Others on the Tour also have Armenian heritage but don’t represent the country such as Karen Khachanov.

Avanesyan is currently ranked 78th in the world, which is 18 places below her career high. This season, she has scored high-profile wins over Maria Sakkari at the Australian Open, Ons Jabeur in Charleston and Qinwen Zhang at the French Open.

She has yet to play in the final of a WTA tournament.

WTA

Iga Looks To Be In A league All to Herself At Paris

Iga Swiatek claimed her fourth Roland Garros title in Paris.

Published

7 days ago

09/06/2024

James Beck

(@Eurosport - Twitter)

Just call her Iga. No other identification is needed.

As the years go by, Iga’s notoriety is sure to grow.

She’s probably already earned a spot in tennis’ Hall of Fame.

Yes, Iga Swiatek is a name to remember. A hero in her native Poland, a superstar in the world of sports.

IGA WAS JUST TOO GOOD

Iga just added to her stardom Saturday with an impressive 6-2, 6-1 victory over little-known Italian Jasmine Paolini to win her third straight French Open title. This was Paolini’s chance to make a name for herself, but she didn’t have the game to make it happen.

Iga was just too good. She made it look too easy.

Paolini could hit some great ground strokes, but when she looked up a bigger shot was on its way back. Iga doesn’t look like a power hitter, but she is.

WINNING 10 CONSECUTIVE GAMES

The 23-year-old Polish Wonder finished the first set winning five straight games, then started the second set winning five more games in succession. The 28-year-old Paolini didn’t seem to have a clue on how to upend Swiatek.

It took just 78 minutes for Iga to win her fifth Grand Slam title.

She’s a lot like her French Open hero, Rafa Nadal.

She takes every match seriously.

SWIATEK OWNS THE RED CLAY

No wonder Iga owns a 35-2 record at Roland Garos. Or that she has won 21 straight matches. Or that she owns a 5-0 record in Grand Slam finals.

She only dominated opponents, except for Naomi Osaka in the second round. Swiatek escaped a match point in that one and didn’t look back.

Iga’s game should be just as superb on the green grass of upcoming Wimbledon.

—

James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.