Women’s tennis experienced a small revolution during the month of July. From now on, all players who wish to play on the WTA circuit must undergo a genetic test for femininity. The body made this decision in order to align with the position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in view of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Concretely, players must undergo mandatory and unique screening for the SRY gene, in order to determine their true biological sex.
This novelty, already introduced by other international sports federations, is fully approved by Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian, first in the world ranking, was questioned on this subject on the sidelines of the Masters 1000 in Toronto.
“I think it took them a little while to make this decision, but I support it,” she said. Biologically, men are much stronger than women. “It would be unfair for women to confront biological men.”
Aryna Sabalenka has already faced a man in her career. It was last December, during an exhibition, against the Australian Nick Kyrgios. She lost in two sets (6-3 6-3). For her, it is mainly a question of “preserving sporting fairness”. And the Belarusian sees no problem in passing this gender test herself. “If we all need to be tested, I would be happy to do so. “It’s completely fair, so let’s keep it that way,” she added.
There are currently no known transgender women on the WTA circuit.
