Ivanka Trump blasts rule that penalized Serena Williams at the French Open for having a baby
- The news that Serena Williams would be unseeded at the French Open following maternity leave has generated significant controversy.
- Ivanka Trump recently joined those criticizing the decision and called on the Women's Tennis Association to change its rules concerning maternity leave.
The Women's Tennis Association has been generating controversy following the news that Serena Williams will be unseeded for the French Open following maternity leave, and now none other than Ivanka Trump has stepped in to criticize the decision.
Under current WTA rules, women who go on maternity leave have their entry into tournaments protected, but not their seeding.
As a result of being unseeded, Williams will have to face tougher opponents early on in the tournament than a player of her caliber usually would.
Ivanka Trump is not the first person to criticize the WTA for this rule, as tennis stars Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova have also spoken out against this rule.
And in a profile in The New York Times written before Williams' French Open seeding was announced, she said she wanted the rule changed.
"I think it's more of a protection for women to have a life," Williams told the Times. "You shouldn't have to wait to have a baby until you retire. If you want to have a baby and take a few months off or a year off and then come back, you shouldn't have to be penalized for that. Pregnancy is not an injury."