The British Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has changed its gender inclusion policy, banning transgender athletes from competing in the women's category, based on scientific evidence that trans women retain physical advantages over men.
Previous rules allowed transgender athletes to “self-identify” and choose the category of their choice, but that rule will be abolished next month. Players who were born male but undergo a “gender change” after puberty are required to play in the men's division and are prohibited from playing as women.
The latest rules on the LTA website state that they apply to tournaments sponsored by the LTA in the UK.
On December 11th statementthe organization cited scientific evidence that male-born athletes have a physical advantage over women, despite testosterone levels and surgical procedures.
“It's clear that tennis and padel are gender-influenced sports. When an average man plays against an average woman, the average man has an advantage. These include a longer lever to hit and increased cardiovascular capacity to move more easily around the court,” LTA says on its website.
The organization added that this advantage is “likely to hold to a significant extent among trans women, making competition potentially unfair.”
The LTA also said the decision was taken following a review by the Sports Council Equality Group.
The group added:
We are changing policies that restrict trans women and nonbinary individuals assigned male at birth from playing in the women's category in certain intervenue competitions. These are competitions ranging from national championships to local county and district leagues, and their purpose is to provide an opportunity for fair competition. This policy will help ensure a common and fair national standard for all these contests.
Women's rights activist Martina Navratilova was excited by the LTA's decision.
Navratilova is otherwise a radical leftist, but she has taken a direct stance against transgender issues. After LTA's decision, she jumped on her X account and wrote, “Congratulations @the_LTA. This is a good start. I hope @usta and others follow suit.” .
The LTA is just one of several organizations that have moved to ultimately ban trans athletes from competing as women. Others include the LPGA, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), International Rugby League (IRL), World Athletics, and FINA, the swimming federation.
These bans have expanded in recent years as sports organizations have begun to recognize that men's bodies have an inherent physical advantage over women's bodies in competitive sports.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Hustonor truth social @WarnerToddHuston
