The topic of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports has dominated sports discourse in recent months. But no sport has been as directly impacted as women’s tennis after the WTA announced in July that it will mandate genetic sex testing for all its players.
At the National Bank Open, several top WTA players have been asked their thoughts after the rule changes. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said she supported the tour’s decision.
“I think it’s really important to keep the fairness in our tour. It’s obvious that biologically the men are way stronger than women, so I feel like it would be not really fair for the woman to compete against biological men,” Sabalenka said.
The WTA’s Women’s Eligibility policy on the testing reads: “This policy distinguishes between biological sex and gender identity, and between biological females and biological males, solely to the extent necessary to ensure that the policy is clear and has its intended effect. There is no intent to disrespect or question the gender identity or the dignity of any person.”
She added: “If they want to test us all, I’m happy to do that, it’s pretty fair, and let’s keep it that way.”
World No. 2 Elena Rybakina didn’t appear to be as fond of the idea as Sabalenka. Still, she made it clear she would follow the tour’s decision.
“I don’t know what to comment,” Rybakina said. “If we got to do it, we will do it. For me, I won’t say it’s unnecessary, but I think it was, without these tests, also fine. But if we need to do it, we will do it.”
Two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff said she understands the tour’s rationale, but cautioned against the hateful discourse around the transgender community.
“I kind of agree with trying to protect the fairness in women’s sports,” she said. “But I also do not like the attack that it is creating. People who don’t really care, but just want to use this as a reason to attack the trans community. So I’m not really a big fan of that either. I don’t really know how to answer this question in a way that people aren’t going to spin it.
“But as far as where I stand, I definitely support the trans community, but I also support the need of creating fairness in sport too.”
Jessica Pegula, the top-ranked American and a member of the WTA Players’ Council, said she hasn’t pushed back, nor has she heard much pushback from the players about the decision. She also said that the tour has given players detailed information about their rationale for the decision and how the process will go.
“My opinion is I think the WTA just wanted to update their policy based on what they have seen from other sporting organizations,” Pegula said. She added that she believes testing is set to begin at the Cincinnati Open, which starts next week.
The WTA and Cincinnati Open did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The tour’s decision comes a few months after the International Olympic Committee also added a policy requiring all female athletes to undergo genetic sex testing to be eligible for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The last known transgender women’s tennis player was American Renée Richards, who played in the late 1970s. Richards had some success, though her deepest Grand Slam run was a US Open doubles final in 1977.
