Women’s tennis tour introduces mandatory gene testing for eligibility

The women’s tennis tour has made it compulsory for its players to complete a one-off mandatory gene test to determine their eligibility.

The new policy will come into effect on Tuesday, at which point all competitors who wish to compete in the women’s category will have to be screened.

The testing is described as a “one-time screening process for the SRY gene” by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), which can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood sample.

It is the same eligibility mandate as World Athletics introduced for its competitions last year, and the International Olympic Committee announced for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

In the WTA’s recently-updated policy on its website, it says the rule is to “preserve the integrity of women’s professional tennis and maintain fair competition conditions” for all of their players.

The SRY gene is involved in male-typical sex development and is found on the Y chromosome. The policy defines it as the gene responsible for turning “undifferentiated gonads into testes rather than ovaries”.

“The 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,” the regulations state.

“This policy distinguishes between biological sex and gender identity, and between biological females and biological males, solely to the extent necessary to ensure that the policy is clear and has its intended effect. There is no intent to disrespect or question the gender identity or the dignity of any person.”

The WTA expanded to clarify the terms “biological male” or “biological female” are defined by them as the respective possession or absence of the SRY gene.

The previous policy, introduced in 2024, permitted transgender women and players who identified as non-binary to compete in WTA events — so long as they declared their gender identity was female or non-binary, and kept the concentration of testosterone in their blood below 2.5 nmol/L when competing and the two years before.

There are no known transgender women ⁠currently active on the WTA tour.

The compulsory method of defining the women’s category has been divisive when introduced across other sports.

UK LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall responded to the IOC’s implementation of it by saying it “stokes further division in our increasingly polarised world”.

The White House, however, has supported the testing for the Olympics and The Athletic reported in April it wanted FIFA to follow the IOC’s lead in issuing the policy for soccer too.