Serena Williams is one of the best tennis players in the world. She is also a new mom. And just like many female professionals in sports and other areas, she is being punished for her choice to become a mom. The French Open will be her first big match back after maternity leave and even though she has won this exact tournament three times, the organizers won't give her the ranking she deserves because of her time off.
Sign the petition if you want the French Open to give Serena and all other women who take maternity leave protected ranking. Because Serena had a baby in September and has been on maternity leave since then, she is technically ranked 453. When she left to give birth, she was number 1. This is the exact kind of treatment that makes it so hard for many women to both fulfill their career aspirations and become parents if they wish.
Even Serena's biggest competitors have all said
they want her ranking to be protected. Just another example of how women support women, even when they are officially pitted against one another. The French Open organizers should recognize this absurdity in their system and make policies to accommodate their players and their life choices.
Please sign the petition asking the French Open to give Serena a seeding (better ranking) and not punish her for becoming a mother. 