Why are there so few women coaches in professional tennis?

DURING HER FINAL months arsenic a nonrecreational tennis player, Sandra Zaniewska didn't cognize what her adjacent section would beryllium pursuing retirement, but she knew 1 happening for sure: She wanted thing to bash with tennis.

For overmuch of her playing career, radical had asked her if she was funny successful coaching, but she ever said simply, "No chance." It didn't involvement her, and the thought of experiencing the globetrotting drudge of the circuit for idiosyncratic else's vocation sounded torturous.

But erstwhile her vocation came to an extremity successful 2017 astatine the property of 25, she was asked by her person Petra Martic if she could temporarily assistance her arsenic she returned to the circuit pursuing an injury. Zaniewska didn't person immoderate different plans, oregon overmuch money, truthful she figured she would assistance for a fewer weeks earlier officially moving connected from tennis. But earlier long, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years, and Martic roseate from a ranking conscionable wrong the apical 100 to No. 14 successful the world.

And Zaniewska, the erstwhile reluctant, anything-but-tennis coach, was hooked. She knew she had recovered her existent calling.

"I loved it, and I retrieve thinking, 'Wow, I was meant to bash this job,'" Zaniewska told ESPN. "From that infinitesimal on, I conscionable stayed and I didn't adjacent privation to research thing else, to beryllium honest. But it truly deed maine aft [Petra and I] stopped moving unneurotic astir 2 years aboriginal due to the fact that past I was capable to look backmost astatine the clip and I was like, 'This truly was the champion escapade that I had successful my full life.''

Since then, Zaniewska has gone connected to enactment with Alize Cornet, and she's been coaching Marta Kostyuk, presently ranked No. 25, since 2023. But Zaniewska knows her travel is unsocial -- "one successful a billion," she speculates -- and she remains 1 of a fistful of women coaching astatine the elite level successful the sport. While coaching changes are predominant successful tennis and it is sometimes hard to place the astir existent coaching partnerships, it is believed determination are conscionable 12 players retired of 128 successful the women's main gully astatine the 2025 French Open who person a caput manager that is simply a woman. Mirra Andreeva, who mislaid successful the quarterfinals and is coached by Conchita Martinez, was the past subordinate remaining to person one. There are nary players successful the men's main gully with a pistillate caput coach.

In a athletics similar tennis, which prides itself connected equality and for its trailblazing history, it's hard to judge there's specified disparity among the coaching ranks. How could determination beryllium truthful fewer women's coaches, particularly among women players? It's a glaring discrepancy that has not gone unnoticed by those progressive successful the athletics -- and thing that coaches similar Zaniewska, successful summation to the WTA, USTA and Tennis Australia are actively moving to change.

"I consciousness similar I was really, truly fortunate successful the way that I had," Zaniewska said. "I truly conscionable privation much females to get those opportunities due to the fact that determination mightiness beryllium much stories similar the 1 that I had. I cognize determination are different coaches retired determination who are anxious to larn and precise bully astatine what they do, they're conscionable not getting the chances to bash it. I'm present [in this position] present and I privation to clasp the doorway unfastened and fto arsenic galore women done arsenic possible."

THERE ISN'T ONE casual reply arsenic to wherefore determination stay truthful fewer women coaches connected tour.

But determination are respective apt factors, galore of which are profoundly rooted successful the sport, its civilization and nine astatine large. Nicole Pratt, a former-player-turned-coach and the women's manager pb astatine Tennis Australia, spent years looking into the intricacies of the taxable portion processing the federation's Coach Connect programme to assistance enlistee and make women coaches.

"It's beauteous deep," Pratt, who presently coaches some Storm Hunter and Kimberly Birrell connected tour, told ESPN. "The complexity of 'Why?' is multidimensional with 4 antithetic layers to it."

Pratt believes it often starts with the idiosyncratic manager and their ain self-belief oregon deficiency of confidence. But that's a tiny portion of the puzzle. From there, it goes to what she defines arsenic the "interpersonal and organizational layers," and that's wherever things similar sex bias often travel into play.

"We cognize that astir radical successful athletics are male, and that tin often inadvertently make barriers for women coaches," Pratt said. "I perceive this each the clip from women coaches. They are often told, 'You'll enactment good with younger girls,' and they are pigeonholed into that."

Pratt explained the adjacent furniture was a profoundly ingrained "social taste one," and said galore young girls are not raised to beryllium brave oregon instrumentality risks successful the aforesaid mode young boys are. That tin aboriginal construe to women not asking for opportunities -- not wanting to look assertive oregon excessively guardant -- oregon not believing they are capable.

Additionally, she said, for immoderate women who privation to person a family, oregon already do, the thought of traveling the satellite 11 months retired of the twelvemonth tin beryllium a daunting one. In immoderate cases, it mightiness simply beryllium intolerable successful conjunction with parental responsibilities. While the WTA announced a caller maternity permission programme earlier this spring, coaches are not eligible. They are fundamentally employees of idiosyncratic players and usually deficiency galore benefits.

But the disparity besides comes down to what galore players connected circuit see an indispensable portion of their team: A hitting partner.

While the apical players are capable to question with an extended squad that often includes a caput manager and a hitting partner, the mean subordinate connected circuit cannot ever spend to person some connected the road. As a result, galore players look for coaches that tin besides capable that role. Pratt, who retired arsenic a subordinate successful 2008, noted that galore of her peers during her clip connected circuit hired "young, inexperienced antheral coaches" solely due to the fact that they could deed and that's what the subordinate could afford.

"In the past fewer years, the wage has gone up and present galore players tin spend to person respective radical connected their squad truthful it is changing," Pratt said. "But determination inactive is this thought for immoderate players of, 'How tin I get the astir worth for my money?' arsenic opposed to, 'Who tin I get that's a truly bully coach?'"

While determination is nary ceremonial grounds oregon database of hitting partners, WTA Director of Member Services Mike Anders told ESPN helium wasn't alert of immoderate women presently successful that relation connected tour. Much similar WNBA and women's assemblage hoops teams person antheral signifier players, astir women similar to signifier with men, if not their tour-level peers. (The prevailing logic is that if a pistillate were bully capable to deed with the tour's champion players, she would beryllium connected tour.)

And being a hitting spouse tin beryllium a steppingstone for aspiring coaches. It's a wide way into the athletics for those who played collegiately oregon connected the little nonrecreational levels -- and tin often pb to more. Sascha Bajin, Michael Joyce and Andrew Bettles, each a existent caput manager of a subordinate successful the main gully astatine Roland Garros, besides began successful the nonrecreational ranks arsenic hitting partners.

"There are a batch of antheral coaches connected the circuit that commencement disconnected arsenic hitting partners, and past they benignant of crook into coaches aft a while, but they ever tin deed erstwhile needed," Zaniewska said. "And I deliberation players mightiness presumption pistillate coaches that can't deed with them, like, 'Okay, is she truly capable to assistance me? What if I request idiosyncratic to deed with maine astatine a tournament?'"

And simply being astir the circuit -- a comparatively small, insular assemblage -- gives those hitting partners an borderline successful creating connections and past getting aboriginal opportunities to manager oregon articulation different team. Anders called it a "big roadblock" for women coaches looking to interruption into coaching astatine the apical level.

WHILE CELEBRATING THE 50th day of the enactment of the WTA astatine Wimbledon successful 2023, Billie Jean King turned her famed advocacy toward the deficiency of women coaches successful the sport. That year, determination were conscionable six players successful the event's main gully moving with a pistillate coach.

"Terrible. Extremely disappointing," King told The Associated Press successful an interrogation that garnered important attraction astatine the time. "It's astir society, absolutely. You person to spot it to beryllium it. So if you don't spot a pistillate up determination arsenic a coach, it doesn't adjacent transverse your brain. How bash we get the apical players to prosecute them? We've got to lick the problem."

But the WTA was already keenly alert of the issue. Not lone was it evident successful the deficiency of women successful subordinate boxes, erstwhile players routinely would kick astir however hard it was to interruption into coaching contempt their ain awesome resumes. And it became crystal wide erstwhile the WTA started a coaching programme successful 2017, chiefly to guarantee coaches were qualified and met definite criteria, and the enactment was capable to spot the earthy numbers for themselves.

Looking to code the occupation head-on, the WTA launched the Coach Inclusion programme successful 2021, an ambitious inaugural geared towards expanding the fig of women coaches. At the clip determination were conscionable 4 women coaches moving with players successful the apical 200.

"The intent astir the programme was truly to region that obstruction of entree that we were seeing," Anders, who runs the program, told ESPN. "Tennis is simply a beauteous tiny satellite and the programme fundamentally combines targeted manager education, with the real-life acquisition of them really being placed successful the environment, arsenic good arsenic fostering mentorships and making connections."

During its archetypal year, the programme worked with 10 up-and-coming coaches successful North America. Since then, 34 women person successfully completed the program, and it has expanded to the Asia-Pacific region, arsenic good arsenic South America and the United Kingdom, with hopes of expanding to the remainder of Europe and the Middle East successful the coming years. There are spots for a full of 20 women crossed each of the regions this year.

The ATP has a coaching programme but confirmed to ESPN it does not person thing specifically focused connected expanding the fig of women coaches. Women coaching men's tennis players remains rare, though Pratt antecedently coached Marc Polmans and Amelie Mauresmo, present the French Open tourney director, worked with Andy Murray for astir 2 years, and aboriginal with Lucas Pouille.

The WTA programme takes coaches to tournaments successful their respective portion and attempts to immerse them successful the afloat coaching experience, moving with players and their teams, learning the ins-and-outs of tourney logistics and gathering arsenic galore radical arsenic possible.

Coaches similar Zaniewska and Pratt are often progressive and let those successful the programme to shadiness them erstwhile possible. Because each tourney connected circuit is antithetic -- and what mightiness dependable similar mundane aspects similar booking signifier courts oregon scheduling proscription to-and-from tract tin alteration radically from lawsuit to lawsuit -- getting a accidental to larn from a seasoned coach, oregon conscionable knowing who to inquire successful the future, tin marque each the difference.

"We had 1 subordinate successful the programme who was coaching a apical 100 subordinate for a spot earlier she adjacent entered the programme and she said she had felt truthful uncomfortable and retired of spot due to the fact that she didn't cognize who to spell to erstwhile her subordinate wanted her to put practices with different coaches oregon asked her questions astir media requirements," Anders said. "Her subordinate expected her to cognize each of that and instrumentality attraction of it. But by conscionable getting the acquisition implicit the people of a year, she got hired instantly aft completing the programme and past conscionable knew truthful galore radical who could assistance her and it made her consciousness similar she present belonged."

At the Italian Open past month, the astir caller lawsuit successful which the WTA has confirmed data, determination were 169 accredited coaches betwixt the main gully and qualifying, and 26 of them (just implicit 15%) were women. In the WTA's Tour Coach programme -- the 1 launched successful 2017 that features some, but not all, of the existent coaches -- 24 of the 125 registered coaches (just implicit 19%) are women. While inactive acold from equal, Anders is encouraged by the progress.

The programme besides boasts a fig of occurrence stories. Anders believes 5 women who person travel done the programme person gone connected to beryllium their location country's Billie Jean King Cup skipper and others person gone to go coaches connected the WTA Tour, including Fanni Varga, who was conscionable named Danielle Collins' manager up of Indian Wells successful March. Varga, a erstwhile inferior subordinate from Hungary who played astatine Division II Southwest Baptist University, had ne'er considered a coaching career. With plans connected pursuing thing successful concern aft earning her Masters, 1 summertime internship spent exclusively successful beforehand of a machine and respective conversations with her assemblage manager made her alteration her mind.

When John Bryant retired aft 51 years, Varga was tapped to beryllium the caput manager for some the men's and women's teams astatine Southwest Baptist. In her 4 years successful the role, she led the men's squad to an NCAA tourney Elite 8 quality and the women's squad to a program-high ranking of No. 7. Varga fell successful emotion with coaching -- and knew she could bash adjacent much and proceed to improve.

She was encouraged by those closest to her to use for the Coach Inclusion program. Varga was excited to marque much connections but besides felt powerfully astir the request for much women coaches successful the sport.

"It was precise important to maine due to the fact that I had a precise atrocious experience," Varga shared with ESPN. "I had a precise bully pistillate manager until I was 14, and a large acquisition with her, and past I unluckily had truly atrocious antheral coaches the remainder of my inferior years. They didn't perceive to maine erstwhile I was injured and told maine to halt complaining and overpushed me. So having this inaugural to assistance go a amended manager for different girls, younger girls who are trying to go professional, was a large inspiration for me."

Varga, 32, wasn't definite if she wanted to manager astatine the nonrecreational level, but being astir the circuit arsenic portion of the programme was a "great eye-opener" for her. She realized it worked good with her "super competitive" quality and tendency to assistance players beryllium the champion they could be. She estimates she was capable to talk to implicit 20 coaches during her clip successful the program, and it lone further fueled her tendency and passion.

"We had the champion time," Varga said. "We shared a batch of experiences, akin goals, akin experiences. At the tournaments we would conscionable up astatine dinner, stock what we learned, what we saw, what we experienced, and that multiplies the cognition you get successful 1 week. Everyone was determination with the aforesaid goals, and honestly I miss those weeks a small bit."

Varga, who is based successful Los Angeles, met up with Collins for the archetypal clip the week earlier Indian Wells began successful March. After a beardown signifier week together, and contempt an aboriginal exit successful the tournament, Collins asked Varga if she would proceed moving with her. Varga is presently readying connected remaining afloat clip with Collins done Wimbledon successful July earlier resuming her responsibilities astatine the Tier 1 tennis academy. She hopes to articulation Collins for portion of the North American hard-court plaything successful immoderate capacity, however.

During 1 of Varga's archetypal signifier sessions with Collins, the 2 practiced alongside Robin Montgomery and her manager Kathy Rinaldi. For Varga it was a full-circle moment: Rinaldi was 1 of the coaches she had a accidental to talk to during the programme -- and the 1 who had possibly inspired her the most. Rinaldi's superior occupation is the caput of women's tennis astatine the USTA and the USTA is 1 of the federations heavy progressive with the Coach Inclusion program.

In summation to continuing that partnership, the USTA says it is arsenic committed to making coaching much inclusive, starting astatine the grassroots level. It is launching its ain coaching programme aboriginal this summertime with a absorption connected expanding the fig of women and radical of colour successful the role. Megan Rose, the USTA's Managing Director and Head of Business Development and Operations and a erstwhile subordinate and coach, is successful complaint of the caller inaugural and believes it volition marque the athletics amended and further turn the crippled successful the United States.

"Having divers practice [of coaches]," Rose told ESPN, "Not conscionable of women, but radical of colour and those that person a disability, truly being capable to person an due practice of the subordinate basal that we privation to besides turn to get to 35 million. It's not conscionable astir visibility, but it's astir validation. For young girls to spot coaches successful these examples lets them cognize that determination is simply a pathway for them, and for women, assemblage tennis players, showing them that determination is simply a pathway not conscionable for coaching, but besides enactment wrong tennis successful wide and wrong antithetic organizations that are successful sport."

Rose said the enactment has tried to place what obstacles forestall oregon dilatory the summation of women successful coaching, successful hopes of specifically helping successful those areas. She said motherhood was a wide barrier, citing the magnitude of clip and question required successful the occupation astatine the higher levels, and the request to make originative solutions.

"We've been reasoning a batch astir however we tin enactment with facilities connected creating the close operation that supports moms coming back," Rose said.

That's a conflict those presently connected circuit look regularly. Pratt has 10-year-old duplicate daughters backmost location successful Australia. Being truthful acold distant for weeks, and sometimes months, astatine a clip tin beryllium challenging.

"It tin beryllium lonely for sure," Pratt said. "Especially erstwhile you're connected the other broadside of the world, distant from your family. I tried to acceptable a spot of a regularisation for myself that I wouldn't beryllium distant for much than 3 weeks connected tour, but evidently that gets stretched."

A camaraderie exists among the women coaches connected tour. There's a radical chat utilized to stock resources, inquire questions, signifier practices betwixt players, and adjacent brainstorm ideas. Often discussed among the women is however to code the hitting spouse inequity. Pratt said she and Martinez were discussing it astatine a caller clay tourney successful Europe.

"I said to Conchi, 'You cognize what would marque a existent quality for pistillate coaches? If the tourney provided hitting partners specifically allocated to us,'" Pratt said of the conversation. "There aren't galore of america astatine this point, truthful if we had that option, the players would really look astatine [hiring a woman] otherwise potentially. There are inactive barriers, but determination are solutions too."

For now, the fig of women coaches remains low, but it is dilatory rising. Some younger players, including 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, who made it done qualifying to the 3rd circular astatine Roland Garros, spot a payment of moving with a pistillate arsenic a coach.

"Of course, having a pistillate there, you subordinate a batch more," Mboko, who is coached by erstwhile satellite No. 3 Nathalie Tauziat, said past week. "I mean, they cognize much [about] the women's game. They cognize the struggles that a pistillate tin spell done connected tour. In that facet it could beryllium a small spot easier to effort to recognize immoderate things that a antheral cannot."

But determination is inactive an other load connected those who person the job, knowing they often correspond much than conscionable themselves. But determination is simply a beardown tendency to unfastened doors for others and marque the way a small easier for the adjacent generation.

While speaking to ESPN, Zaniewska was told of the manager Anders mentioned who was intimidated by the logistics of beingness connected tour. She vowed to substance Anders and connection her assistance if different women coaches had akin questions.

"Because you don't privation those things to derail you successful a way," she said. "Something similar this tin shatter your assurance and hide you. I person nary power implicit however galore pistillate coaches are connected circuit oregon however galore pistillate coaches determination volition be. I tin lone bash my tiny portion successful this. We person to assistance each other."