Like Sloane Stephens, 2017 US Open champion, is on a mission. She’s pushing for more support for women athletes to figure out how to plan families while pursuing their professional dreams. The eight-time WTA Tour winner has been intentional in seizing control over her life. She was able to freeze her eggs twice, giving her the option to explore motherhood while continuing to chase her professional aspirations.
Stephens will turn 31 in March. To combat the stigma surrounding IVF, she wants athletes to begin talking about fertility treatment earlier in their careers. She hopes that this kind of dialogue can help empower players to make more informed decisions about starting a family. Me, myself, I’m 31 so that’s something that really piqued my interest. I don’t know what to do going forward,” she told him. The older I get, the less chance I will have to become a parent. She pointed out the particular pressures that women in sports endure.
Stephens’ experience is an unfortunate but prevalent narrative among women in athletics. One example is pro tennis player Jessica Pegula, who is looking into freezing her eggs. Pegula has become a crucial leader in the WTA Players’ Council, pushing for better backing in conversations surrounding family planning. She said that most athletes don’t know how fertility treatments work. The uncertainty leads to anxiety while they attempt to prioritize their jobs alongside their own professional dreams.
Stephens elaborated on her frustrations of egg freezing, the procedure she underwent, being an issue that wasn’t widely known or discussed among her peers. “If I’d known, I probably would have done it when I was 22 and my eggs were all good and fluffy and ready and all of that,” she remarked. It’s “very much long overdue,” she says with conviction, to advocate for mothers and mothers-to-be in women’s sports. She argues that tennis must be out front in pushing this critical discussion in the right direction.
The WTA Tour is taking steps to provide greater access to fertility treatment for athletes. Stephens hopes that the amendments adopted today will have a profound effect on the future of the tour over the next 20 years. “It could eventually change our whole tour in 20 years,” she said, underscoring her belief that providing resources for family planning will alter the landscape of women’s sports.
Stephens pointed out that the younger generation of female athletes will feel more comfortable discussing these topics, which can lead to more supportive environments. “Those years all matter. … That younger generation of girls now will feel more comfortable talking about it, doing it. They feel supported with the ranking,” she explained.
Athletes such as Elina Svitolina have opened up about their issues with navigating the realities of motherhood and a professional athletic career. Svitolina has faced abuse from bettors, adding another layer of complexity to the already demanding life of a professional athlete. Just like Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion who’s looking to balance parenthood with returns to the WTA circuit’s pinnacle.
Stephens hopes to continue telling her story and begin honest conversations around fertility. She hopes that this will give female athletes more freedom to better pursue their careers and family planning endeavors in tandem. “Everyone’s speaking about it, everyone’s sharing their journeys because it’s helping all of us understand what everyone’s gone through so we can make the best-informed decisions,” she stated.
The sports world is finally beginning to listen to the demands of mothers. This shift can’t just be restricted to tennis—it needs to happen throughout the entire world of women’s sports. “Every female sport should be following the same narrative of advancing players, advancing players’ futures, advancing their rights to have families and their decisions, all of that,” Stephens asserted.
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