The ethics of the special ranking for pregnancy in tennis

In this paper, we provide a normative analysis of the Women's Tennis Association revised policy on maternity leave, which is regulated by its special ranking rule. To do so, we first explore how the revised policy functions when probed in relation to the nature of competitive sport. Then, we ex...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the philosophy of sport Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 121 - 141
Main Authors Torres, Cesar R., Lopez Frías, Francisco Javier
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 02.01.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
discrimination
Ethics
Maternity & paternity leaves
maternity leave
pregnancy
Ratings & rankings
special ranking
tennis
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In this paper, we provide a normative analysis of the Women's Tennis Association revised policy on maternity leave, which is regulated by its special ranking rule. To do so, we first explore how the revised policy functions when probed in relation to the nature of competitive sport. Then, we examine the revised policy through the lens of the literature on maternity discrimination. We argue that, when compared to its previous formulation, the revised special ranking rule is morally defensible because it better protects female players' interest in being able to combine their professional careers and their personal lives. However, we also identify several pronounced vulnerabilities and criticisms to the revised policy.
ISSN:0094-8705
1543-2939
DOI:10.1080/00948705.2019.1697622