The WTA has found itself at the center of a growing controversy in recent weeks after rolling out a major change to its eligibility rules. Effective July 21, every player on the circuit is required to undergo a one-time gene test, a move that has already divided opinion across the tennis world. And now, British tennis authorities have stepped into the same increasingly heated debate, introducing a significant policy change of their own that is set to take effect in September.

The LTA has decided to ban transgender women from all competitive women’s matches in Britain. They cited the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s new Code of Practice on the Equality Act as the reason behind their decision. The Code was published in 2025 after the Supreme Court ruled that “woman” and “sex” in the Act refer to biological sex.

This updated policy will come into effect on September 1. It will apply to club championships and any competitive sex-categorized tennis tournament held in Britain. It applies to all tournaments that are overseen by the LTA, but doesn’t affect international tournaments held in Britain like Wimbledon, WTA events in Queen’s, Eastbourne, Nottingham, Challenger and ITF events.

The LTA had already tightened its policy in late 2024, barring transgender women from county, national and inter-club women’s competitions while leaving internal club events up to individual clubs. The latest EHRC guidance changed that, pushing the LTA to extend the restriction to all competitive matchplay.

The LTA has long argued that tennis and padel are “gender-affected” sports because factors like reach, power and cardiovascular capacity can give the average male player a physical advantage.

The debate is not new to tennis. Renée Richards competed on the women’s tour in the 1970s after transitioning in her early 40s and later coached Martina Navratilova. Richards later said male-born players can retain physical advantages after transition and claimed she could have been the best player on the women’s tour had she transitioned younger.

Navratilova has also become a strong critic of transgender participation in women’s sport, while former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies publicly backed the LTA’s latest move.

The LTA’s decision also follows a broader pattern in British sport. Several governing bodies have tightened their rules on transgender participation since the Supreme Court ruling, with both the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Football Association barring transgender women from women’s competitive events earlier this year.

It also comes at a time when the WTA is facing criticism for making gene testing compulsory for all players. The move came as a shock to many, as they had previously allowed transgender players to compete if they kept their testosterone below 2.5 nmol/L continuously for two years.

While players are yet to share their reactions to the LTA banning transgender women from competing in Britain, the reactions to the WTA taking the initiative of gene testing have been mixed, to say the least. While some players are in favor of it, others are against it.

Players weigh in on the compulsory gene test initiative introduced by the WTA

Aryna Sabalenka is one of the players who are in favor of gene testing. She feels that it is unfair for women to compete against biological men and believes that the testing is very important on the WTA circuit.

“I think it’s really important to maintain fairness on our tour,” she said at a press conference before the National Bank Open. “Obviously, biologically, men are much stronger than women, so I feel it wouldn’t really be fair for women to compete against biological men.”

“I believe it took them a little while to make this decision and, yeah, I support it. But for me, I’m focusing on myself, on my goals, you know, whatever it takes. If they want to test us all, I’m happy to do that; it’s pretty fair, and let’s keep it that way.”

But not everyone feels the same way, as Coco Gauff isn’t a big fan of the move. While the American wants women’s sports to be fair, she doesn’t want the trans community to be offended because of the decision.

“I guess I kind of agree with trying to protect the fairness in women’s sports,” she said in the post-match press conference after defeating Kayla Day at the National Bank Open. “But I also do not like the attack that it is creating. People who don’t really care, but just want to use this as a reason to attack the trans community. So I’m not really a big fan of that either.”

The WTA has made it clear that it has “no intent to disrespect or question the gender identity or the dignity of any person” through the policy. The players have to be tested only once in their careers, and a negative result will clear them for good. But still, not all players on the circuit seem to agree to the initiative.