WTA hire director of safeguarding to help increased effort to protect female athletes against predatory coaches

The WTA has made a step towards protecting its players and female athletes in general from predatory coaches after several players came forward with their experiences.

Any time you have a power dynamic that favours one gender over the other, you can have problems. It's particularly so if the gender with more power is male because society for the most part still benefits the male gender more often than not. Due to recent stories about former and current players coming out with examples of predatory behaviour by coaches, the WTA has hired a director of safeguarding in order to ensure better protection for its players.

The role belongs to Lindsay Brandon who is a lawyer by profession and after assuming her new role, she said:

“Safeguarding is about emotional abuse. Physical abuse, as well. And it’s not just coach-athlete. There can be athlete-to-athlete issues. There can be issue with respect to training staff separate from coaches. Those are just some of the examples.”

She added:

“Safeguarding is multifaceted and strongest when the entire population is educated, invested and held to the same standards. ... We have a diverse body of players, staff and support teams, so the challenges and areas of concern will vary. As the governing body, our focus is making sure that players feel they can come forward and share their concerns, which plays a critical role in being able to address the issues that may be at hand."

WTA Chief Steve Simon admitted that he is already noticing positive effects:

“We are seeing more athletes coming forward. which is a great initial result.”