Matteo Berrettini Enthusiastically Supports New Saudi PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

Matteo Berrettini, one of the most exciting players in men’s tennis today and a new ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has expressed his enthusiastic support behind a ground-breaking initiative in women’s professional tennis.

On March 6, 2025, the WTA Tour announced the introduction of the PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program, a first-of-its-kind maternity policy for professional tennis players, offering up to 12 months of paid maternity leave, parental leave for non-birthing parents, and fertility treatment grants, all funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Berrettini enthusiastically supported the program while competing in the 2025 Miami Open tennis championships. 

“I love how they’re trying to help people to get into tennis, and the ones that are already into tennis, for example, the maternity fund that they just announced,” Berrettini said in Miami of the efforts of PIF in tennis. “I think it’s great for the sport. The women deserve to have support when they have the most important moment of their lives. Giving birth is something so beautiful that it really deserves to have someone behind that, and obviously not only the family, but us as a company, as people.”

Berrettini’s fellow PIF ambassador Kim Clijsters is one of three women in the Open Era of tennis (since 1968) who have won a major singles title as a mother, joining Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong. The WTA Tour has seen a significant increase in athletes who have returned to pro tennis after becoming mothers, most notably major champions Petra Kvitova and Naomi Osaka, former Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic and all-time great Serena Williams.

As part of his PIF Ambassador role, Berrettini traveled to Saudi Arabia during the 2025 ATP Tour Middle East swing and participated in a series of tennis clinics for young Saudi children who had never had the opportunity before to meet, play with and gain inspiration from a professional tennis players.

“I really like how I’m involved with kids,” Berrettini. “Anytime that I see some kids playing tennis, I think about myself being a kid and dreaming about playing against someone or training together or hearing some tips from a professional tennis player. So I think this is special as well. I don’t take it for granted. It’s something I worked really hard in order to deserve this honor, to talk to kids and show them how much I love tennis and how at the end it’s a game, but it can make you do great stuff. So I’m really proud of that.”

Berrettini, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2021 and the owner of 10 career ATP singles titles, first visited Ryidah, the Saudi capital, in 2022 while playing in the Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition event. During his return visit in February of 2025, he said he could notice considerable improvements and development in the city while continuing to feel the warmth of Saudi people.

“I could see how the city is evolving and getting better and better every time,” he said. “I love how people there are so welcoming. And because I’ve never been in Saudi before, even in 2022, I felt so a warm welcome. And they love sports.”

Part of the PIF investment in sports includes investment in both the ATP and WTA Tours as its rankings sponsor. It also brought the WTA Tour Finals tournament to Riyadh starting in 2024 and the ATP Tour’s “Next Gen” Finals to Jeddah.