Female tennis players granted WTA ranking protection during fertility procedures
The WTA will now protect the rankings of female tennis pros who take time away from competition to undergo fertility protection procedures, the tour announced Wednesday.
The player-led measure will allow female tennis players to use a special entry ranking (SER) for up to three tournaments if they choose to undergo a "fertility protection procedure such as egg or embryo freezing."
"By introducing this new form of ranking protection, the WTA helps to support and empower women athletes to balance a professional sports career with planning and starting a family at a time of their choice," the tour said in a news release Wednesday.
The new measure adds to the WTA's Family Focus Program, which already includes ranking protection during pregnancies or other means of parenthood and postpartum support. It also follows the WTA's announcement in March that tennis players on tour can receive 12 months of paid maternity leave.
"I'm incredibly proud of our sport in recognizing the importance of fertility treatments for female athletes," 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens said in a statement provided by the tour.
"For any woman, the conversation of family life versus a career is nuanced and complex. The WTA has now created a safe space for players to explore options and to make the best decisions for themselves. It's truly groundbreaking and will empower this generation, and future generations of players, to continue with the sport they love without having to compromise."
Speaking to the BBC, Stephens explained her own experiences and the challenges she faced under the previous rules.
"The first time I did it, I rushed back, and I was overweight and not happy and just very stressed out," she told the outlet. "The second time I did it, I took a totally different approach so I could just be in better shape. I could have the surgery. I could have more time to recover.
"Having the protected ranking there, so that players don't feel forced to come back early and risk their health again, is the best thing possible."
The SER will be based on the 12-week average of the player's WTA ranking from eight weeks prior to the start of their out-of-competition period.
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CNN
33 minutes ago
- CNN
The 125th US Open Championship tees off on a course that ‘challenges your sanity'
All week in the build-up to the US Open, the course at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was touted as a beast – a track so difficult that the world's best might look like weekend hacks trying to navigate it. As Thursday's opening round ended, just 10 players were under par and the course had lived up to its reputation. American JJ Spaun led the way with a 4-under 66, nailing his first-ever bogey-free round in a major. He entered the tournament having not played at Oakmont before, and he thought that helped. 'I kind of came out here with no prior history at Oakmont, not really knowing what to expect even US Open-wise. This is only my second one,' he said after the round. 'I don't know if that freed me up in any aspect, but I just tried to kind of take what the course gave me. I hit a lot of good shots and tried to capitalize on any birdie opportunities, which aren't very many out here.' 'But I scrambled really well, too, which is a huge component to playing well at a US Open, let alone shoot a bogey-free round.' Chasing Spaun were South African Thriston Lawrence at 3-under; Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka and Sungjae Im at 2-under; and Ben Griffin, Jon Rahm, Thomas Detry, Rasmus Neergard-Petersen and James Nicholas at 1-under. Most of the field wasn't as pleased as Spaun as many of the tournament's biggest names and the world's best players felt Oakmont's wrath early and often. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and others were beaten up by the long rough and wicked fast greens, dried out by a day of beating sun and warm temperatures. The US Open is always considered the toughest major to win each year and Oakmont has only made that more difficult for the 125th edition of the tournament. Even Scheffler, who has calmly dominated the sport as of late by winning three of his last four PGA Tour tournaments, was visibly frustrated on Thursday as he finished the day seven shots out of the lead with a 3-over 73. There was ample warning of what was to come; prior to the season's third major, the tournament's defending champion, Bryson DeChambeau, cautioned those who dared attempt to tame the track, 'This course doesn't just challenge your game. It challenges your sanity.' Household names like DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, and Justin Rose all felt the sting of Oakmont's test with its unforgiving five-and-1/4-inch thick rough, infamous bunker known as the 'Church Pews' – where wayward golf balls must feel like they've landed in golfing purgatory – and a 9th hole green that is the approximate size of four NBA-sized basketball courts. On the positive side, the weather presented warm and dry conditions, but judging by how few players scored red numbers, it was a small consultation. And with Oakmont's sloping greens, those dry conditions made for tough putting. While world No. 2 McIlroy got off to a solid start – including a booming 392-yard drive on 12, the longest drive of the season for him – he ran into the perils that lurk at Oakmont. He found himself in super thick rough in a ditch on his fourth hole. He chose to hit out of the hazard, which yielded mere yards. The next shot out of the rough only advanced a few feet. At this point, a bogey on the hole would be a massive relief considering the tribulations to reach the green. The Northern Irishman did just that, rolling in a 30-foot putt for a six. McIlroy would go on to card a 4-over 74. Maxwell Moldovan, having recently completed his eligibility at Ohio State University in 2024, made the most of his first round start on Thursday. As the morning revealed itself with the rising sun in his face, the 23-year-old looked to have tamed the rugged test of one of golf's toughest courses with just his second shot of the day. He hit a blind 189-yard approach that landed short of the hole but rolled straight into the cup for a delightful eagle. At first, Moldovan didn't seem to realize his fortune but as the early-rising crowd cheered, Moldovan gave his caddie a solid high-five with a smile. The 125th US Open is being played for a record tenth time at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania where CNN's Patrick Snell is in the rough to show you just why the famed country club has long been considered one of the toughest courses in the country. #cnn #news #sports #golf #usga #usopen #oakmont #golfing #oakmontcountryclub 'I couldn't really see it but I heard people start cheering and then I walked down the hill and I saw it go in and everybody's hands go up,' he said after his round. As the day unfolded, the Ohio native must have thought the course at Oakmont doesn't appear to like being shown up. He scored bogey-bogey on the next two holes. He would go on to finish the day with a 6-over 76. Shane Lowry also experienced a yo-yo day as depicted on a scorecard filled with joy and pain. Lowry became the first player to eagle the par-4 3rd hole, just after a double bogey on the previous hole. He'd go on to have five more bogeys and two more double bogeys for a 9-over 79. At one point, he was seen tossing an on-course microphone into the thick rough in frustration. Perhaps the most compelling story entering this tournament was that of Dr. Matt Vogt, as his patients in Indiana affectionately call him. The self-confessed 'math and science geek' who once quit his college golf team, the full-time dentist who found the perfect formula when it came to qualifying for the chance to play the course he once caddied, is the fan favorite playing back in his hometown. However, he struggled out of the gate with double bogeys on two of his first four holes. He carded an 82 on the day that he admitted afterwards felt like he had gotten beat up at his old stomping grounds. 'My goodness, honestly, I came in with such optimism for this golf course, but it is so hard,' the 34-year-old said. 'It's just so, so hard. 'I'd say in the moment you feel like you get punched in the face, but ultimately, yeah, I'd say it was fun.' Despite the clear challenges put forth for the 156 participants, LIV Golfer Patrick Reed produced a historic score on the par-5 fourth hole that made the game and course look easy. After a 332-yard drive, he cranked a 286-yard second shot that appeared to be magnetized to the cup. The ball took a couple of bounces on the green and rolled straight home. Reed didn't know he had just hit the fourth-ever recorded albatross in US Open history but after hearing the crowd cheer for the rare feat, he shrugged and produced a big smile. He finished with a Reed finished with a 3-over 73.
New York Times
43 minutes ago
- New York Times
U.S. Open 2025: Oakmont may be a slow burn but high scores are still coming
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The golf so far is indeed evil. It is hard. It is the second-highest-scoring U.S. Open first round in 10 years, even higher than the last Oakmont trip in 2016, and the top of the leaderboard will keep reverting back to par over four days. Because more than any other major and any other course, an Oakmont U.S. Open is not about your highest of highs. It's about your lows across 72 holes. So Adam Scott, a man playing in his third Open at Oakmont, was asked what he thinks it'll take to win if it doesn't rain this weekend. 'I like plus four,' Scott said. OK, what did MacIntyre think? 'You shoot four level-par rounds, you're walking away with a medal and a trophy,' he said. Rory is currently in a battle with the par-5 4th. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 12, 2025 With the sun still rising in the Western Pennsylvania sky at 6:40 in the morning Thursday, Dr. Matthew Vogt set up on the first tee as an outsider who believed. Here was a dentist from McCordsville, Ind., who grew up outside Pittsburgh and earned his way here in a 36-hole qualifier in Walla Walla, Wash.. He felt good in his practice rounds. He didn't feel like some token, quirky story, a former Oakmont caddie given a tee time. He earned this. Advertisement Vogt stepped up to hit the opening tee shot of the 125th U.S. Open, his eyes not displaying any fear or doubt, and launched a drive so far left it went over the rough, the nearby ninth fairway and all the way into the rough on the other side of No. 9. Credit where it's due, Vogt hit a fantastic recovery shot to save par. Unfortunately, Vogt was 12-over-par by the time he finished in 82 shots. 'My goodness, honestly, I came in with such optimism for this golf course,' Vogt said, 'but it is so hard. It's just so, so hard. I'd say in the moment you feel like you get punched in the face, but ultimately, yeah, I'd say it was fun.' This was not just punishment for the dentist. Minutes later, world No. 13 Tommy Fleetwood teed off and found the left-side native area hazard and had to take a drop. An opening bogey started his way to a disappointing 4-over 74. Shane Lowry, the 54-hole leader at Oakmont nine years ago, shot a 79 in spite of a hole-out eagle on No. 3. Dominant forces like the sport's consensus top three — Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and McIlroy — all shot at least 3-over. The 2016 U.S. Open here was filled with constant rain and stoppages, and still 11 golfers finished Round 1 under par. By the Sunday finish, there were just four. On Thursday, it was just 10, and it will only get harder each day. There's a slight misunderstanding about the test Oakmont creates. It is indeed the hardest course in major golf, but it is not the type with constant hazards or daunting hills leading to obvious blow-up holes and crushing penalties. It is a course that jabs you over and over, little by little, slowly but surely, until it can recognize the true golfer still standing after four days of attrition. The fairways are difficult, but not unbelievably hard to find. The course is long, but nothing crazy by modern standards. The greens are comically fast, but they're big and landable. It's a course that simply tests you in straightforward ways, but with every single shot without a single break. Advertisement So it's not about how low the leader goes on Day 1. It's about who can hold off the disasters constantly around the corner for 72 holes. 'Your head starts spinning out here, and it just gets away from you,' Vogt said. McIlroy looked composed and steady at 2-under through nine. Then he bogeyed No. 1, went to the par-5 No. 4 and hit it right into the thick, penal native area. It took him three hacks to get back into the fairway, and it was impressive to even make bogey. He'll start Friday's second round tied for 63rd at 4-over. 'If you miss the fairway, it's essentially a stroke penalty,' said Jordan Spieth, who shot even par. Patrick Reed made an albatross on No. 4 to get to 2-under and become one of the stories of the day. He slowly faded, and on his final hole on 18, he found a bunker, went to some thick rough from there, tried to get cute from the edge of the green and ultimately triple bogeyed to fall to 3-over. 'When I was watching it earlier on the coverage, guys were spinning balls back up the hills on 1 and 10. That's never going to happen again,' Reed said. MacIntyre's caddie had to remind him after each poor position that they had a plan and need to stick to it. Don't try to be a hero. It kept him alive. He wasn't the only one hearing that. 'If you're out of position in the rough, you lose control,' Scott said. 'It can take two or three goes to get it back into a spot where you can have control over the next shot. It's pretty relentless, really.' J.J. Spaun is not your 18-hole leader because he made four birdies. Plenty of people strung birdies together. He's the leader because he never let a hole get away from him. He's on top because of his remarkable par saves, like his one on No. 4 from the church pews bunker. 'That's kind of the key to this tournament and this venue is just not losing your steam,' Spaun said, 'not losing your focus, and converting those momentum-saving putts.' That's the other thing to acknowledge. The only two golfers to shoot 67 or better — Spaun and Thriston Lawrence — putted out of their minds, both ranking top four in the field in strokes gained on the green. That is the least sustainable skill at a course like this. Some of those putts won't fall Friday. Or Saturday. Or Sunday. Advertisement Oakmont is indeed creating carnage, and it will continue to as the week goes on. How do we know? Because even the golfer in third place, Si Woo Kim, admits he's flying blind out there. 'Honestly, I don't even know what I'm doing on the course,' Kim said. 'Kind of hitting good, but I feel like this course is too hard for me.' (Top photo of Trevor Gutschewski: Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
Washington Post
44 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Pacers aren't celebrating, Thunder aren't panicking as sides reset for Game 4 of the NBA Finals
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