Victoria Azarenka says she would like to see more childcare facilities.GETTY IMAGES
The return of Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka to the women’s tour following maternity breaks "has focused plenty of attention on what needs to be done to encourage more mothers to play top-level tennis," according to Pritha Sarkar of REUTERS. Azarenka is "calling for more childcare facilities on the regular WTA Tour," while French Open organizers were criticized for "not seeding Williams on her return to the event in May." Wimbledon "addressed the situation by seeding her 25th, a considerable promotion" from her official ranking of 181st. The issue of "setting up more on-site childcare facilities, however, is unlikely to be resolved as quickly." WTA Senior Dir for Athlete Assistance Kathy Martin explained that the body’s responsibility was to "ensure the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of its athletes" rather than interfere in something "as personal as childcare." Martin: "Childcare needs to be done properly with expert people who are trained and qualified and insured to do that." Williams admitted that while she would "like to see more daycare options on the tour, she would not use them at this time" because "Olympia is really young" (REUTERS, 7/9).
