In recent years, rarely a month goes by without some player getting married or giving birth. While before we barely even had moms returning to the circuit, now there are quite a few players continuing their careers despite motherhood and it’s not a rare occurrence that they play well into their pregnancies. Because of this baby boom, the WTA has found itself in a new situation, having to adjust the ranking system to make it more supportive of the ever-increasing number of WTA moms.
As of 2019, players coming back from childbirth, illness, or injury, will be able to use the ranking held at the start of their absence to enter 12 tournaments over a three-year period.