British tennis strengthens protections for women’s game

Britain’s national governing body for tennis is to introduce a ban on male players at any level of women’s competitive matches.

In 2024, The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) protected the women’s category in competitions between players from different clubs, for example, at county or national level.

Now following statutory guidance protecting single-sex spaces coming into force, the protections will be applied to all outcome-based competitions for women, such as matches that affect a club’s internal player ratings or league positions.

Protections

Baroness Davies of Devonport welcomed the announcement, saying: “Sports are now doing what they should have always done. Protect their female players & athletes from unfair sport.”

The LTA’s updated ‘Transgender and Non-binary Individuals Policy’ reiterates that “there is a significant difference in sport performance between biological men and biological women, and the performance difference is driven primarily by higher circulating testosterone in biological men”.

The document notes that while supressing such testosterone levels “reduces to some degree muscle mass and strength and other physical attributes that contribute to sport performance, the significant sex difference is not eliminated”.

Fairness

Meanwhile, for international events, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) now requires each player to undergo genetic testing to confirm the absence of a male-associated gene before they can start competing. Previously, men who identified as women were deemed eligible if their testosterone levels remained below 2.5 nmol/L for two years.

The governing body stated: “The WTA’s women’s eligibility policy is designed to promote equal athletic opportunities in women’s professional tennis and maintain fair competition for all players participating in WTA tournaments”.

“Following the most recent review, which included consultation with WTA members and evolving standards across women’s sport, the WTA board approved an updated WTA women’s eligibility policy beginning in 2026 based on biological sex.”

World number one Aryna Sabalenka agreed with the measures, saying: “It’s obvious, that biologically, the men are way stronger than women, so I feel like it would be not really fair for the woman to compete against biological man.