Berlin – According to tennis player Tatjana Maria, the professional organisation WTA should provide better support for pregnant women and mothers on the Tour.
“In tennis, pregnant women are not called pregnant, but we are more or less counted among the injured players,” said the mother of two daughters in an interview with “Sportschau”. Charlotte is eight years old, and Cecilia was born at the beginning of April 2021.
“At the moment, the same rules apply to pregnancy as to players who have been injured for a long time. We already have some mothers on the tour now. I think the rule should be changed a bit so that there is a separate rule for pregnant women,” demanded the 34-year-old from Bad Saulgau, who has returned to the Tour in the meantime.
She said it was “sad that there are women who feel so much pressure or are so attached to their career that they stick to their career and only have children afterwards.” Professional sport and motherhood are “possible at the same time”, stressed Maria, currently number 254 in the WTA rankings. “I don’t understand why the WTA hasn’t created an extra rule for pregnant women by now and we have to use the rule for injured people. “