World number 1 on the women’s tennis circuit Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday deemed it “unfair” that the authorities of the women’s professional circuit allow transgender women to participate in WTA tournaments, even if they are currently absent from the elite of world tennis.
Invited Tuesday evening on the show of British host Piers Morgan, who had already created a buzz with interviews with Novak Djokovic and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Belarusian was questioned on the subject to find out if she shared the opinion of former champion and ex-world number 1 Martina Navratilova, who is opposed to the participation of transgender women in WTA tournaments.
“It’s a delicate question. I have nothing against them, but I still have the feeling that they have a huge advantage over women who have not made a gender transition. “I think it’s simply unfair for a woman to face” players who are “biologically men,” she continued.
“A woman works her whole life to push her limits and suddenly it’s as if she had to face a man, someone biologically much stronger. I disagree with this kind of thing in sport,” concluded the four-time winner of a Grand Slam tournament, who is due to face Australian Nick Kyrgios in Dubai at the end of December in an exhibition match called “The Battle of the Sexes”.
“I think she’s absolutely right,” explained the Australian, also a guest on Piers Morgan’s show.
The rare precedent Renée Richards
The participation of transgender women in WTA tournaments is permitted, under conditions, by the body responsible for regulating the women’s circuit. Among the eligibility criteria set by the WTA, transgender women who wish to play in a tournament in this category must prove that the concentration of testosterone in their blood has remained below 2.5 nanomoles per liter for the last two years.
They must also send the WTA a signed declaration attesting to their female or non-binary gender identity. In fact, no transgender woman currently plays leading roles on the WTA circuit.
The American Renée Richards, born Richard Raskind in 1934, is one of the only transgender tennis players to have played at the highest level.
After having played several times in the US Open for men in the 1950s, she had a second career on the women’s circuit between the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the following decade. After his retirement from sports in 1981, Richards notably trained Martina Navratilova.
