Seeding changed to help new moms

USTA says women should not be ‘penalized’ for having children

The U.S. Open is changing its approach to seeding players coming back from pregnancy after tennis officials were criticized for their handling of Serena Williams upon her return to the French Open last month.

Katrina Adams, the president and chairwoman of the U.S. Tennis Association, said players coming back from pregnancy should not be “penalized” for starting a family.

“It’s the right thing to do for these mothers that are coming back,” Adams said. Adams made no specific promises about where Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion who gave birth to a daughter in September, would be seeded. But Adams said the U.S. Open would “revise the seedings if pregnancy is a factor in the current rankings of a player.”

The decision could have a ripple effect on other tennis tournaments. The French Open did not grant Williams a seed, but Wimbledon, which begins on July 2, has traditionally been the only Grand Slam tournament to consider factors beyond a player’s ranking in its seeding process.

Wimbledon will announce its seedings for this year’s tournament on Wednesday and could give Williams a seed, perhaps in the top eight. She is currently ranked No. 183 in the world, but has won the Wimbledon singles title seven times.

Discrimination involving women who are pregnant or who have recently given birth is widespread in many industries. In professional tennis, debate over the issue escalated when Williams, the sport’s most dominant player, was not given a seed for the French Open. (She withdrew with an injury before her fourth-round match.)

Under current Women’s Tennis Association rules, players who have lost ranking slots after missing time, because of injury, pregnancy or other reasons, do not get the benefit of a protected seeding at tour events, making it more difficult for them to negotiate their way through the draw.

In the wake of Williams’ return to tennis this year, the WTA received criticism for not making seeding allowances specifically for pregnancy.

The organization said it would reconsider its position. But the U.S. Open will not wait and, like Wimbledon and the two other major events, it has the authority under Grand Slam rules to make such changes.

Adams said she believed that forcing a player to come back from pregnancy at a lower position than when she left would be like asking a top executive to return from pregnancy leave at an entry level position in her company.

Adams said that with the policy now in place, it will benefit all players who are considering starting a family.

“We think it’s a good message for our current female players and future players,” Adams said. “It’s OK to go out and be a woman and become a mother and then come back to your job, and I think that’s a bigger message.”

But some disagree. Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic, who is ranked No. 24, said a woman returning from pregnancy did not deserve special treatment.

“Why should we give someone who chooses to have a baby seedings?” Strycova said. “It’s not when you are injured. I think you shouldn’t get seedings. It’s tough, but this is my opinion.”