Tennis Australia is urging sporting organizations to make regulations inclusive, which could see biological males competing alongside women in major sporting events. This comes as many sporting organizations are attempting to implement guidelines for transgender athletes, per Sky News.
The recent development caught the attention of Martina Navratilova, widely considered one of the greatest female tennis players of all time. She took to Twitter after learning of the news, posting: “Oh boy. This is not a good idea at all. Trans athletes are included in sports- in the biological category, not in their chosen category. By including trans identified males in females sports, spots for biological females are taken away. I am not ok with that.”
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley has expressed his desire to see the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) allow transgender people to compete in the category that they choose, instead of the category determined by their biology.
Tiley shared his thoughts with the Sydney Morning Herald, saying: “We’re trying to influence the decision now. We are an organisation that believes absolutely in inclusivity, in diversity, in equality - so any decision made will need to be aligned with our core values.”
“To be able to influence those decisions as best as we can internationally, so they are aligned with our values, is really important.”
In 2021, the International Olympic Committee announced that it would permit organizations to come up with their own regulations around transgender people competing in sports. As a result, World Athletics and World Aquatics banned transgender competitors. It is well-understood that trans-identified males have a biological advantage over women in sports, which could potentially eradicate women from their own sports.
While there are currently no transgender athletes competing at the highest levels of tennis, a number of other sports have been forced to create guidelines on this issue. As of now, the ITF does allow trans women to compete in women’s sporting events if they have had testosterone levels less than five nanomoles per liter for more than 12 months. They are also required to have a signed certificate of eligibility from the ITF itself.
The US Women’s National Team, made up of some of the best female soccer players in the country, were pummeled by a fourth-tier men’s soccer team 12-0, proving that men have an objective advantage over women in competition.
