Women’s sports are entering a pivotal phase, one where athletes are no longer expected to sacrifice personal milestones, like starting a family, to maintain competitive status. Fertility care and motherhood, once largely invisible in the world of elite competition, are now being recognized and supported by some of the world’s most prominent leagues and clubs.
From tennis to soccer, organizations are taking bold steps to support female athletes holistically by offering fertility protection, parental leave, and medical benefits. This shift is not just reshaping sports culture but creating a meaningful opportunity for brands to connect authentically with fans.
Quick Highlights
- In 2025, the WTA introduced a groundbreaking policy allowing players to retain ranking protection during fertility-related absences, an expansion of its previous maternity rule.
- Multiple NWSL players have received fertility treatment support, including hormone therapy coverage and time off for egg retrieval.
- Racing Louisville FC partnered with Kindbody in 2021 to offer fertility preservation services to all players, believed to be a first-of-its-kind deal in pro sports.
- Veteran WNBA players are eligible for a $60,000 reimbursement for adoption, fertility treatments, and surrogacy costs.
- The LGPA has removed the 10-game limitation for golfers on maternity leave to enhance player autonomy.
- FIFA mandates 14 weeks of paid maternity leave for all female footballers under its governance as well as 8 weeks paid leave for those who adopt a child under the age of 2.
The Overdue Recognition of Fertility Care in Sports
Fertility care has long been overlooked in elite athletics, despite its critical role in female health.
Treatments like egg freezing and in vitro fertilization (IVF) are physically demanding and time-sensitive, often clashing with an athlete’s competition schedule. Olympic bobsledder Kaillie Humphries opened up about her struggle to balance the IVF process while still maintaining her training regimen. Humphries navigated the hardships of ovary stimulation, egg retrieval, and more while actively gearing up for the Olympics.
Until recently, female athletes risked losing their rankings, contracts, or roster spots simply for prioritizing reproductive health. In a recent study by Cofertility spanning hundreds of female athletes, 70% of participants revealed they have postponed having children due to their careers. An even greater percentage expressed concerns that having children could negatively impact their earning potential and long-term career opportunities.
New policies from organizations like the WTA and NWSL are finally acknowledging that reproductive health is essential in empowering female athletes and advancing the game.
Redefining Athlete Support: The WTA’s Historic Maternity Initiative
In a groundbreaking move, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have introduced the PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program, marking the first time in women’s sports history that comprehensive maternity benefits are available to independent, self-employed athletes.
This pioneering initiative provides eligible WTA players with up to 12 months of paid maternity leave, grants for fertility treatments, including egg and embryo freezing and IVF, and two months of paid parental leave for those becoming parents through adoption, surrogacy, or partner pregnancy.
To build on this support, the WTA followed up these provisions with a new policy to protect player rankings while they are away for fertility reasons.
The program is a significant step forward in supporting female athletes, offering financial stability and flexibility to balance professional careers with family life. It empowers players to make personal decisions without the fear of jeopardizing their careers, setting a new standard for athlete support in women’s sports.
These initiatives also highlight the importance of partnerships in driving positive change.
While the collaboration with PIF has faced scrutiny due to concerns over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, both the WTA and PIF emphasize the transformative potential of the program in creating a more inclusive environment where athletes can thrive both professionally and personally.
Changing the Game: Fertility and Family Support in Women’s Soccer
In recent years, the NWSL has emerged as a leader in redefining what athlete wellness looks like through fertility, pregnancy, and motherhood support.
In 2021, the NWSL Players Association ratified its first collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which included comprehensive paid parental leave, adoption support, and guaranteed housing for players with children.
A new CBA executed last year expands on those rights. It states that if a player’s contract expires during her pregnancy, her team must invite her back to give her a chance to earn her spot again.
Since then, several clubs have gone even further. Racing Louisville FC, for instance, became the first team in professional sports to partner with a fertility care provider, offering players access to egg freezing and fertility preservation through Kindbody, a groundbreaking move that acknowledged the very real-time pressure female athletes face when it comes to reproductive choices.
But the NWSL has not yet standardized fertility support. In some cases, NWSL reimburses players for hormone therapies or provides time off for egg retrievals, however access varies depending on club policies and individual insurance plans. This uneven landscape highlights both the progress made and the work still ahead.
For Brands, Purpose Drives Connection
Consumers today, especially Gen Z and millennial women, expect brands to stand for something. Companies that back fertility access, parental support, and gender equity in sports are setting the tone for modern advocacy.
Take WHOOP, for example. The wearable tech brand invested in extensive research to launch its Menstrual Cycle Coaching feature, helping female users better understand their physiology. It’s a move that signals real investment in women’s health, not just performance.
This kind of purpose-driven work also delivers returns. A recent study found that fans of women’s sports are 2.8 times more likely to buy products endorsed by female athletes. These endorsements land with more impact because women athletes are seen as 7 points more trustworthy than their male counterparts, largely due to their authenticity.
That authenticity deepens when brands support athletes holistically, honoring the entirety of their lives, including family planning.
The most successful brand campaigns in women’s sports have tapped into that message. Nike’s revision of its maternity policy following public criticism from Allyson Felix not only repaired its reputation, it deepened its connection with women worldwide. Likewise, brands that support fertility care in leagues like the NWSL or WTA have the opportunity to lead with empathy and true action.
A Smarter Model for Athlete Development
Maternity leave and fertility care aren’t “extras,” they’re essentials.
For too long, elite sports treated these aspects of health and life as optional or even burdensome. But as more female athletes speak openly about fertility struggles, pregnancy, and parenting, it’s becoming clear: these experiences are not interruptions to a career, they’re part of it.
By embedding fertility and parental support into athlete wellness strategies, leagues are safeguarding careers from being cut short by life events that disproportionately impact women. This matters especially in sports where peak performance years often overlap with the limited window for starting a family.
Athletes who feel supported holistically—physically, emotionally, and financially—are more likely to stay in the game longer, transition into coaching or leadership roles, and give back to the ecosystem that empowered them. This creates a virtuous cycle of mentorship, visibility, and institutional knowledge that elevates the entire sport.
Investing in the Whole Athlete
Athelo Group is helping drive that shift by empowering its female athletes with the resources and brand alignment needed to allow them to navigate their personal lives without compromising their professional goals.
Investing in athletes as whole people extends beyond sport. It sends a cultural message that women in any high-performance field shouldn’t have to compartmentalize or delay motherhood in order to be taken seriously. Leagues that prioritize fertility care are modeling what inclusive, future-ready leadership actually looks like.
