All About Healthcare For Female Tennis Players
At the US Open, which kicked off on Monday, the world’s top female tennis stars will battle it out over the next two weeks.
But for players like Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, and Naomi Osaka, the women’s tour also provides free access to essential healthcare. Now, getting information about their own bodies has never been easier, thanks to a new initiative by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
The taskforce initiative—launched in June 2023—expands on the healthcare that players receive all season long. Athletes can access on-site physicians, massage therapists, and mental health providers—all at no cost.
For players like Naomi, the support is extremely helpful during long tournaments.
“If you feel a slight niggle or anything like that, you can immediately go to them and they’ll help you out,” she tells Women’s Health.
But the medical care goes beyond quick check-ups, hosting educational sessions on topics like the best sports bra fit, fertility, and keeping players’ bones strong.
Athletes are guaranteed annual physicals.
Each year, the WTA selects the tournament that will draw the most players to determine where they can receive an annual physical. (This year, it was the Miami Open in March.) The appointments include a DXA scan for bone health, heart health checks, and internal medicine exams; they also include access to an ob-gyn.
Shelby Rogers gets a DXA (bone density and body composition) scan from Hologic.
Then, at each tournament, players have access to on-site medical pros, including sports physicians, massage therapists, and mental health providers.
“Being a tennis player, it’s so hard to schedule appointments because usually, your doctor should schedule two months in advance. We don’t always know we’re going to be two months in advance,” Coco tells WH. “So it is nice that in between appointments, I know I can always get checked up by the incredible team.”
The physicals also provide a time for doctors to educate athletes on topics they may not have ever thought about before, like pelvic floor health and the importance of well-fitting sports bras.
At physicals, pelvic floor physical therapists use a specialized ultrasound to show athletes how to activate their pelvic floor muscles, since 50 percent of athletes experience often-unspoken pelvic floor issues, Dr. Jennifer Maynard, the chief medical advisor for the WTA, tells WH. If left untreated, symptoms like pelvic pain and urine leakage can distract players, hinder training, and cause anxiety.
Another priority for the group is bra health. Between 70 to 80 percent of athletes are not wearing the correct sports bra, according to research by taskforce member Dr. Deirdre E. McGhee.
“If you don’t have a well-fitting sports bra, the muscles that have to support the breast could otherwise be helping to power their serve, their stroke in tennis,” Maynard says.
This kind of comprehensive care is crucial for players like Coco. “I didn’t know how important it [all] was,” she tells WH.
The taskforce is prioritizing reproductive health.
But the support doesn’t stop at annual physicals. During appointments, players can ask the ob-gyn questions about menstrual cycles, preconception, pregnancy, postpartum care, and returning to play.
The education has been a game-changer for American stars like Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula, who are both considering their family plans.
“I just recently turned 29, so I was like, I actually have to start thinking about if I want to have children or if I need to freeze my eggs,” Madison tells WH. “Being able to go to them and have someone give me some great advice was amazing.”
“Having turned 30 now, I get to do a lot of the fun, fertility questions and how to freeze your eggs and what the process is,” Jessica Pegula adds. “They were able to answer all those questions, and that was really, really helpful.”
Part of the health initiative, per the WTA, is having structures in place to protect new moms. Players are now promised a three-year maternity leave and a protected ranking, which allows new moms to freeze their records amid a pregnancy. The task force also ensures international family health insurance for WTA members and their families, including maternity care and infertility treatment.
The support was inspired by previous players who were forced to give up their careers after they got pregnant, former pro Leslie Allen writes on the WTA website.
“Now, athletes can learn how to stay healthy, have a baby, and come back to the tour,” she continues.
A player gets checked up by a physical therapist during the WTA Hologic tour.
They’re also guaranteed mental healthcare.
The focus isn’t just on the physical—players have access to mental health professionals, too. From early on, athletes are introduced to the WTA’s Mental Health and Wellness team, which offers year-round, tailored support. Players can access individual sessions with athlete-specialized mental health providers through video chat or in-person at tournaments, including at all Grand Slams.
“The frequency, duration, and topics discussed during our sessions are truly athlete-led, whether in person or via telehealth,” Becky Ahlgren Bedics, the WTA’s Vice President of Mental Health & Wellness, writes on the organization’s website.
For Jessica, mental health support has been a lifeline, crediting mindfulness with helping her navigate emotional challenges after her mother Kim Pegula experienced a cardiac arrest in 2022.
“The mental health professionals at the WTA understand us not just as women, but as women athletes under a lot of stress, physically and mentally, due to our sport and travel schedule,” she shared. “They are always super helpful and very welcoming.”
For Jessica, the taskforce is not just changing the way she approaches her health as a professional athlete, but is setting a precedent for female athletes in all sports.
“Everything is catered more towards males in this area,” she says. “At the end of the day, it’s us and our body and our decisions and what we want to do with our health, and so having [the taskforce] around just makes those decisions a lot easier.”
Isabel McMahon is the assistant social media editor at Women’s Health, where she manages the brand’s Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and more. She’s a proud former college-radio DJ, Pisces Sun, and novice doomsday prepper.
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