The greatest tennis player of all-time is currently ranked 491st in the world. No, she didn’t tear an ACL. No, she didn’t fail a drug test. No, she didn’t pull a Tiger Woods and go off the reservation.
So why the ranking? Motherhood. Seriously. Tennis finds itself stuck in the archaic times where women were subject to disparate treatment because of pregnancy and motherhood.
Just look at that list of names around Serena. Talk about the who’s who of tennis! So why is Serena ranked no. 491 in the world right now? According to WTA CEO Steve Simon, the Women’s Tennis Association (“WTA”)’s “current rule does not allow a player who uses her Special Ranking [which allows women returning from pregnancy to enter a tournament] to be seeded, whether absent for injury/illness or for pregnancy. When reviewing these rules, the players have traditionally expressed they do not feel that a player coming back from a long-term layoff, for any reason, should be allowed to be seeded.” That’s what Mr. Simon told the New York Times.
So how do the upper echelon players feel about Serena Williams and her seeding upon her return from pregnancy? Let’s ask Simona Halep, current world No 1.: “To give birth is the best thing in the world. It’s more than a sport. I think she should have been actually number one seed in this tournament because she left as number one in the world.” Fine, we didn’t interview Ms. Halep. But she did tell the reporters at the BNP Paribas Open that she thought Serena deserved the one-seed there.
Halep’s coach, Darren Cahill, was even more outspoken, stating during one of Serena’s matches, “[t]his match should not be happening in a 3rd round. Serena (and all mothers) should be protected by the WTA and allowed to use their protected ranking for seeding, if applicable. Women should not be penalized for giving birth by starting from zero.” Cahill’s comments came during Serena’s match against her sister Venus. Serena lost the match in straight sets.
Former men’s player, James Blake, who is also the director of this week’s Miami Open, certainly agrees that Serena is being treated unfairly. He remarked: “For someone who goes on maternity break, they should be protected. . . It’s not as if she left because of injury and lost her passion for the game. She had a kid, which we should all be celebrating, so when she comes back there should be a grace period where she can still be seeded.” Amen.
At the Miami Open, Serena drew 22nd ranked Naomi Osaka in the first round of 128 players and lost in straight sets. We are ill-equipped to wrap our minds around the rationale that leads to Serena Williams having to play the 22nd best player in the world in round one.
You might be thinking: Shouldn’t it be against the law for the WTA to essentially demote players for taking pregnancy leave? Funny you should ask. Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, federal law prohibits demoting an individual for requesting and/or taking pregnancy leave. The WTA would of course argue that it has not demoted Serena but that its seedings merely reflect Serena Williams’ level of play given her lack of tournament participation while on leave. So would they really be arguing that Serena is the 491st best player in the world? Who knows? But we sure would love to see Serena Williams v. WTA establish that a player’s seeding cannot be impacted by her taking pregnancy leave. If the WTA isn’t going to make the change on its own, maybe its most recognizable player can convince them by threatening a lawsuit.
On the bright side, Simon had the PR sense to at least add that the WTA is “very supportive of those players returning from pregnancy to the Tour.” Gee, thanks Steve. We can’t wait to see what happens when a male tennis player takes paternity leave . . .