Players who undergo fertility treatment will be able to use their special ranking to enter up to three tournaments within 10 weeks of their return.
The special ranking will be an average of a player’s ranking over a 12-week period before and during their leave.
Players will not, however, be able to use this ranking to enter one of the WTA’s premier 1000 events, as the tour wants to encourage players to undertake the procedure at a quieter time of the season.
“It’s all trial and error, everyone’s body is different,” Stephens added.
“Someone might be out for three months, someone might be out for one week.
“Some people gain a tonne of weight, some people can go back immediately. I think when you are family planning, it’s better if you have that support.”
Stephens says she was a strong advocate for such a measure when a member of the WTA Players’ Council, and the tour’s chief executive Portia Archer confirms the move was player-led.
“It was very much at the instigation of the players,” she said.
“We want to really help players address this conundrum where peak athletic performance coincides with the time period of peak fertility, so players are often faced with this tough choice of how to really maximise and optimise those years.”
