"Let's do the egg freezing" - Australian tennis star Daria Saville opens up on measures she's taken to start a family despite busy tennis schedule

Life as a professional tennis player can be very demanding, leaving little time for traditional relationships. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Aussie tennis star Daria Saville recently revealed she has been freezing her eggs in an effort to start a family someday.

The former World No.20 recently tied the knot with partner Luke, who is also a professional tennis player. Saville admitted that were she and Luke not tennis players, then they would already tried to have kids.

The 30-year old has struggled with injury over the past two years, battling back from two Achilles tendon ruptures and issues with plantar fasciitis. After working hard to return to a competitive level, Saville took to Instagram in November to reveal that she had been undergoing hormone treatment to help stimulate more eggs for retrieval.

The World No.112 published a clip of herself on social media self-administering the hormones. Saville then posted a video of herself attending a clinic along with a friend before undergoing the procedure to have her eggs removed. Furthermore, she stressed that she had to check the medication was conforming to anti-doping regulations before taking it.

Saville had also been diagnosed with a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which is a hormonal issue that can reduce a woman's fertility. Approximately 10 per cent of women have the condition.

"We’re at that age, both 30 years old and married, and we kind of always said that if we weren’t professional athletes, we would probably try and have kids by now," she told The Sydney Morning Herald. "But I’m still playing, and I still want to compete, and for that reason, we thought: "OK, well, let’s do the egg freezing"… I was able to do that while I was injured because you need a bit of time.
"It feels more like, "OK, I’ve ticked the box’, and it makes me feel more comfortable continuing my tennis career". But so far, I’ve done only one cycle. I might do another cycle. I know it’s not a guarantee at all, but I felt like: 'OK, this is like a first step and a little bit of reassurance'."