Wimbledon 2018: Victoria Azarenka and fellow mothers pushing for better rights on return from maternity leave
The former world No 1, who has brought her 18-month-old son The Championships, said she was 'proud' of the conversations being held with tournament chiefs
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Your support makes all the difference.Victoria Azarenka and her fellow tennis-playing mothers are currently holding talks with Wimbledon chiefs in a bid to secure greater rights following their return from maternity leave.
The former world No 1, who has brought her 18-month-old son, Leo, to The Championships, said she was “proud” of the conversations being held between organisers and a player’s council at this year’s event.
The return of Serena Williams at SW19, whose daughter was born in September, has helped further the mothers’ profile as they push for better rights.
Alongside Azarenka and Williams, there are six other mothers of young children at Wimbledon: Vera Zvonareva, Tatjana Maria, Evgeniya Rodina and Kateryna Bondarenko in the singles championships and María José Martínez Sánchez and Mandy Minella in the doubles.
Speaking after her straight-sets first-round victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova, Azarenka said: “I think it's an important conversation that has been started. This conversation has led to numerous meetings, numerous occasions where we are discussing the rules and how can we be a leader in sports to have the best maternity policy for not -- I don't think just women, but I think all sports. And that conversation is ongoing.
“It happened [a] couple days ago we had a big meeting, and I feel like we are moving in a really good direction. I feel that our voices, as a player council, are heard. We do implement things that are going to be important for players.”
She added: “But my main thing is that it has to be for everyone, and the rules have to be applied for everyone. So that is one thing that we haven't come to the conclusion yet, but it's coming.
“I think I'm pretty proud of what kind of conversations we have been having.”
Ahead of The Championships, Williams had praised the All England Club for giving her a ranking for the tournament despite dropping down to 181 in the world rankings during her absence from the game. She described the decision as “very noble and honest and cool”.
Officials said that although she was not entitled to a seeding under the Women’s Tennis Association criteria it had awarded her one so that there would be a “balanced draw”.
Williams’s sister, Venus, and Johanna Konta are on the players’ council that is leading the calls for reform. Konta said yesterday that the campaign was already making progress. “There have been changes made in terms of aligning the maternity leave according to what the injury leave is, to have the same amount of time to be able to come back,” she said.
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