{"id":2051816,"date":"2026-07-20T06:45:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T03:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2051816"},"modified":"2026-07-20T06:45:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T03:45:59","slug":"wta-confirms-major-rule-change-as-womens-players-will-have-to-undergo-genetic-sex-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2051816","title":{"rendered":"WTA confirms major rule change as women&#8217;s players will have to undergo genetic sex test"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">WTA confirms major rule change as women\u2019s players will have to undergo genetic sex test<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/shahidaj\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Shahida Jacobs                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"20 Jul 2026 7:45 AM\" data-ps-date=\"20 Jul 2026 7:45 AM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1784529959\"><br \/>\n                            20 Jul 2026 7:45 AM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img 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border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"WTA confirms major rule change as women\u2019s players will have to undergo genetic sex test\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/The-WTA-logo-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: The WTA logo\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                The WTA logo                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>The WTA has announced a major shift in its policy to compete on the Tour as it will require all players to undergo a one-time genetic sex test in future in a move to prevent transgender women from competing.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/wta-tour\">WTA<\/a>, the new rule will come into effect on Tuesday and players can conduct the once-in-a-lifetime test for the SRY gene \u2013 which helps to determine biological sex \u2013 via a cheek swab or \u200bblood test.<\/p>\n<p>It is a shift away from the previous policy, where transgender players were allowed to play on the WTA Tour if they declared their gender as female and also kept their testosterone at lower levels for the required two-year period before competing professionally.<\/p>\n<p>There are no known transgender women competing at the top level in women\u2019s tennis and, according to journalist Ben Rotherberg, the \u201cWTA is the first independent professional women\u2019s sports league or tour to mandate such genetic screening for all of its athletes\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2>WTA News<\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/aryna-sabalenka-gives-verdict-transgender-women-competing-tennis-interview-nick-kyrgios\">Aryna Sabalenka gives verdict on transgender women competing in tennis in interview alongside Nick Kyrgios<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/transgender-athletes-tennis-lta\">Britain\u2019s LTA take a bold step on the issue of transgender athletes in tennis<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A statement issued to <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.benrothenberg.com\/p\/wta-require-genetic-sex-tests-dna-trans-women-tennis-womens-tennis-document\">Bounces<\/a> read: \u201cThe WTA\u2019s Women\u2019s Eligibility policy is designed to promote equal athletic opportunities in women\u2019s professional tennis and maintain fair competition for all players participating in WTA tournaments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince first being introduced in \u200b\u200b1975, the eligibility policy has undergone periodic review in light of developments across international sport. Following the most recent review, which included consultation with WTA members and evolving standards across women\u2019s sport, the Board approved a new policy beginning in 2026 based on biological sex.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe updated policy is intended to provide a clear eligibility standard for participation in WTA tournaments. Eligibility to participate in WTA tournaments will be confirmed through a required, one-time screening process for the SRY gene. Player screening will begin in 2026, following all appropriate confidentiality and data privacy safeguards and concurrent with a comprehensive player engagement program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe WTA recognizes that this is a sensitive and complex issue and is committed to treating all players with dignity and implementing the policy in a respectful and thoughtful way. Additional detail can be found in the full policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Renee Richards was the last known transgender woman to compete professionally as she played on the Tour from 1977 to 1981 and went on to coach the great Martina Navratilova.<\/p>\n<p>But 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Navratilova has been an outspoken critic of transgender athletes competing in women\u2019s sports and she welcomed the move by the WTA as she replied to a post on X: \u201cA step in the right direction by the @WTA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WTA confirms major rule change as women\u2019s players will have to undergo genetic sex test Shahida Jacobs 20 Jul 2026 7:45 AM The WTA logo The WTA has announced a major shift in its policy to compete on the Tour as it will require all players to undergo a one-time genetic sex test in future [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2051816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2051816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051816\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2051816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2051816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2051816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}