Motherhood can change a perspective on a woman and the world she prepares to take her own.
The next step in the WTA’s (Womens Tennis Association) support for female players giving birth is to introduce maternity pay.
Lancashire Tennis President Lisa Cartwright quoted “It's an important time in their personal lives.
“Having a kid should not feel like a punishment.”
Currently in women's tennis there is no maternity pay for players - only maternity leave.
And with the WTA’s maternity leave policy is such that the association will provide a two-year period for a player to return by using her special ranking.
This means after giving birth and returning to the sport she will have the same ranking on the day she stopped playing.
Lisa, who has two children of her own and coaches tennis at junior level, shared that she was afraid of being away from the court when she was pregnant.
“Missing out on tournaments was hard for me and at the time there was no maternity pay for me as a coach.
“I cannot imagine how hard it is for a professional player, but I was lucky that I had support from the family around me.
“It is a correct change, because other jobs you have maternity pay and that is when you're pregnant you get paid.
“For most female athletes, I think the discussion should be spread that your life will dramatically change or finish if you had a kid.”
The WTA provides each female player with an athletic care manager to oversee the health and safety during pregnancy.
So, with the sport gaining attraction, it remains to be seen if the WTA will make the change.
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