Sloane Stephens freezes her eggs so she doesn’t have to choose between tennis and motherhood

Grand Slam tennis champion Sloane Stephens looks to the long run. In addition to competing on the planet’s biggest tournaments in hopes of lifting more trophies, she can be looking forward to expanding her family with her husband, footballer Jozy Altidore. Realizing she wasn’t enthusiastic about having to choose between touring and motherhood, she recently made the choice to freeze her eggs.

“I always wanted to become a mother and have a large family one day, including both biological and adopted children. I think it’s all wonderful,” Stephens says, sharing that her mother was the seventh of eight children. She can be the mother of Altidore’s son, Cameron. “Having a grandfather who was a Howard-trained OB-GYN, I was always aware of fertility, maternal health, and the importance of supporting my health as an African American woman.”

She adds: “At 31, I’m considered a veteran on the road and I’m still very captivated with competing in sports, but I wanted to freeze my balls so I could give attention to the current without worrying about what doors I would close or open. It’ll be harder once my chapter in tennis shall be closed.”

Stephens’ fear is common not only amongst other tennis players and athletes, but additionally amongst many ladies pursuing skilled careers. Concern about how parenting may impact an individual’s success of their chosen field, and vice versa, could cause enormous stress. In tennis, taking the time to give attention to fertility, including egg freezing, can impact your rating. Stephens is fighting to change that.

In a campaign she has just announced in a network of infertility treatment clinics Friendly, with whom Stephens went through the method, shares her egg freezing journey, drawing parallels between the exertions required each in training to turn into a champion athlete and preparing for motherhood. She lobbied for egg freezing to be recognized as a protected activity in tennis, so that ladies’s rankings wouldn’t change for 3 months while the procedure was performed. Protected rankings allow top-level players to return relatively unscathed after a protracted layoff, which is usually allowed within the event of injury.

We spoke with Stephens about her efforts to provide women tennis players with alternative and to act fearlessly while balancing skilled and personal responsibilities. She told us what the egg freezing process was like and what the long run holds for her on and off the court.

ESSENCE: When you began the method, did you have much knowledge about how egg freezing worked?

Sloane Stephens: I talked to just a few people and understood the overall timeline, however the Kindbody team really explained the whole process and made sure that every step seemed very doable and that I understood exactly why each step was happening. As an expert athlete subject to mandatory drug testing, it is vitally necessary that I understand every little thing that is occurring in my body. The entire Kindbody team was an incredible partner on this process and communicated really effectively to ensure every little thing was explained and properly documented.

How did this process impact your ability to train and compete, and how did it encourage you to lobby for egg freezing to turn into a protected activity in your sport?

Egg retrieval is a medical process that has a physical impact on the body. During my first recovery cycle I gained about 20 kilos due to hormones and took a break from training so that in the long run I shall be more aware and plan my next off-season cycle in a different way. It’s also necessary to rest and not overexert yourself and risk ovarian torsion or other complications, so I had to really plan my training blocks and off-season to make all of it occur. For this reason, I’m very keen to introduce protected rankings for athletes undergoing infertility treatment, so that they’ll feel supported in making independent decisions and taking proper care of their bodies, without having to withdraw out of fear of rating points or profession failure.

Based in your conversations with the ladies you play with, do you discover that female tennis players feel they are sometimes forced to choose between sport and raising a family? And how did freezing your eggs free you from this struggle?

As athletes, we’re used to making sacrifices for sport. Female athletes have an extra layer of fertility that should be taken into consideration throughout their careers. When talking to lots of my tour friends about fertility, some equate fertility preservation or family planning with making one other sacrifice to the game, similar to missing a birthday or being on the road greater than 40 weeks a yr. My hope is that by partnering with Kindbody to share my experience and raise awareness, women who’re focused on their careers, including other athletes, will feel comfortable and encouraged to explore opportunities and not feel like that a profession must come on the expense of family or vice versa. Each family looks different and may come at their very own time. I hope to support culture and space, especially in my immediate world of skilled tennis, where my colleagues will have the chance to realize all their dreams.

Having said that, what are your hopes for the long run regarding tennis and also your loved ones life?

Health and happiness in every way! I like playing tennis and I’m still very motivated to compete. I also have many external interests and projects that I’m developing and looking forward to implementing.