Sabalenka against participation of transgender athletes in women’s tennis
The WTA Tour's current policy allows transgender women to compete if they announce their gender as female for at least four years, lower testosterone levels and agree to undergo testing procedures.
New Delhi: Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka believes participation of transgender athletes in women’s tennis is unfair as they enjoy a biological advantage in sport.
The WTA Tour’s current policy allows transgender women to compete if they announce their gender as female for at least four years, lower testosterone levels and agree to undergo testing procedures.
In case conditions vary, WAT’s medical manager decides on a case-by-case basis and Sabalenka believes it would be unfair for women’s players to face opponents who are "biological men".
"I have nothing to do against them. But I feel like they still got a huge advantage over the women and I think it's not fair on women to face basically biological men," she said, as quoted by Reuters.
"It's not fair. The woman has been working her whole life to reach her limit and then she has to face a man, who is biologically much stronger, so for me I don't agree with this kind of stuff in sport."
The four-times Grand Slam champion is currently on a promotional spree to for her "battle of the sexes" clash with Nick Kyrgios on December 28.
Support from Kyrgios
Former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios endorsed the Belarusian’s view, saying: "I think she hit the nail on the head."
In recent years, no instance have appeared of transgender players participating in professional tennis.
From 1977 to 1981, transgender tennis player Renee Richards played on the WTA Tour, before turning coach for icon Martina Navratilova, a gay rights pioneer.
An 18-times Grand Slam singles champion, Navratilova, has publicly championed for inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sport while 12 times Grand Slam Billie Jean King, winner of the first "battle of the sexes" in 1973 views transgender exclusion as discrimination.
Britain's Lawn Tennis Association barred transgender women from competing in national and inter-club female competitions in 2024.
Multiple sports federations have either launched studies or tweaked rules to ban athletes who have undertaken sexual transformation even as transgender advocacy groups view it as discrimination.
Critics of them point out that these trans athletes enjoy a huge musculo-skeletal advantage despite undergoing medication for lower testosterone levels.
The WTA is yet to speak on the matter.