Britain’s LTA take a bold step on the issue of transgender athletes in tennis
Tennis chiefs have been under pressure to clarify their position on transgender athletes competing at the highest level of the sport and now Briatin’s LTA has taken a lead on the contentious issue.
They have announced that transgender women will be banned from playing in the female category in most domestic tennis competitions in Britain from next month.
Up to now, the LTA rules suggested players were allowed to self-identify their gender, but trans women and non-binary individuals assigned male at birth will only be allowed to compete in the male category in specified competitions.
While the LTA only has the authority to implement their policy on tournaments under their jurisdiction in Britain, their statement made it clear that the advantages of biological males in tennis forced them to consider a change in their rules.
“It is clear that tennis and padel are gender-affected sports – the average man has an advantage when playing against the average woman,” read a statement.
“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 trans women, making competition potentially unfair.
“We are changing our policy to restrict trans women and non-binary individuals assigned male at birth from playing in the women’s category in Specified, inter-venue, competitions.
“We want to encourage local venues to ensure that they are as inclusive as possible for trans and non-binary individuals, providing opportunities to compete in a friendly environment. In line with this, our own Local Tennis Leagues product (largely played in parks) will remain fully inclusive.”
The new policy is the result of an 18-month process involving consultation and the LTA has confirmed they will review the policy going forward.
“We recognise the diversity of opinion around this matter and would like to assure the tennis community that the LTA will continue to listen to all views and keep the policy under review in response to emerging research and data, and further guidance from other relevant bodies.”
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Tennis could face a huge problem if a biological male attempts to enter women’s tournaments, with the huge prize money on offer in tennis adding to the issues in the sport.
Transgender athletes in other sports have not won the kind of prize money on offer in women’s tennis, with the physical advantages a biological male would have in women’s tennis seen at all levels of the game.
The LTA has also confirmed that lower-level competition and friendly club matches will not be impacted by their change of policy as their statement added:
“For Non-Specified Competitions within venues, the purpose is primarily to provide fun, social competition to enable people to feel part of their local tennis community and players will be able to familiarise themselves with the policy within their own venue and hence who they are likely to be playing against. These will range from weekend social tournaments through to Club Championships, these will be able to be fully inclusive, and the choice will be for local venues to make.
“We want to encourage local venues to ensure that they are as inclusive as possible for trans and non-binary individuals, providing opportunities to compete in a friendly environment. In line with this, the LTA’s own Local Tennis Leagues product (held in park venues) will remain fully inclusive.”
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