Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association to ban transgender women from some female events
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The LTA added that it had a responsibility to ensure competition was fair.
PHOTO: UNSPLASH
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LONDON – Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has updated its rules to bar transgender women from competing in national and inter-club female competitions, the governing body said on Dec 11.
The LTA added that while it was committed to making the sport welcoming and inclusive for everyone, it had a responsibility to ensure competition was fair.
“It is clear that tennis and padel are gender-affected sports – the average man has an advantage when playing against the average woman,” it said in a statement.
“This includes longer levers with which to reach and hit the ball and increased cardio-vascular capacity means being able to get around the court more easily.
“The current broad consensus, including the conclusion of the review carried out by the Sports Councils Equality Group, is that this advantage is likely to be retained to a significant degree in transwomen, making competition potentially unfair.”
The LTA said the revised policy will come into effect on Jan 25 and would cover “specified competitions” involving individuals from different clubs, venues or counties up to national-level events.
International events such as Wimbledon, WTA tournaments held in Britain and International Tennis Federation (ITF) events are out of the scope of the LTA’s rules.
Non-specified events within clubs, ranging from social play to club championships, will be able to be fully inclusive with venues able to determine their own policy.
The WTA Tour Gender Participation Policy currently permits transgender women to participate if they have declared their gender as female for a minimum of four years, have lowered testosterone levels and agree to testing procedures.
In other news, US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster will step down from the role after the 2025 edition of the Grand Slam and take up a strategic advisory position within the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
After a stint as WTA chairwoman and CEO, the 61-year-old joined the USTA in 2016 as its chief executive of professional tennis and became the first woman to serve as tournament director of the US Open four years later.
“I’m excited to close out my career in professional tennis with the USTA,” she said on Dec 11, adding that it had been an honour to lead such a prestigious tournament as the US Open.
“I’m proud of the growth and innovation that propelled (it) to new record level attendance and even more so to have become (its) first female tournament director – an honour that will pave the way for more female leaders in the sport I love.” REUTERS, AFP
