On Tuesday, the Women’s Tennis Association took a strong step forward in transgender policy by implementing a mandatory biological-sex screening process for the first time. Players must take a one-time genetic test to establish their eligibility to compete on the women’s professional tour.
The test, conducted by a cheek swab, blood test, or saliva sample, screens for the SRY gene found on the Y chromosome. The gene is a key indicator for biological sex because it acts as a genetic “on” switch for male sexual development. A negative result will establish permanent eligibility for play, while a positive result will trigger further medical assessment of the player in question by the official WTA Medical Manager or a delegate.
Women’s sports exist for female athletes, and fairness requires keeping it that way.
Player compliance with the policy “designed to promote equal athletic opportunities … and maintain fair competition for all players” will be a hard-line condition of eligibility moving forward.
The earlier WTA policy replaced by the genetic testing standard was far more … permissive. It allowed transgender “women” to compete if they declared a female gender identity and maintained testosterone below a required level for two years.
The reasoning behind the shift is more preventative than due to any controversy, as there are no known transgender players in professional tennis. Broader changes in sentiment about transgender policy in women’s international sports certainly play a role in the WTA’s decision.
With trials for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles just around the corner, the International Olympic Committee adopted a similar eligibility policy in March. The female category at future Olympic Games will be limited to athletes who test negative during the one-time SRY gene screening requirement.
SRY gene screening has become a go-to method for women’s sports in the last year. The World Athletics governing body introduced mandatory screening for competitors before the 2025 World Championships. World Boxing followed suit in 2025 as necessary to “ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women.”
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who famously held the world No. 1 in women’s singles for 332 weeks, said she was “very happy that we at the WTA are clear that we are a women’s association and only women, as in females, can compete at the highest level of women’s tennis.”
The WTA policy and the broader changes occurring in women’s international sports are a candid acknowledgement that testosterone suppression cannot just erase the physical consequences of male development. These institutions did not adjust their policies on a whim. Specialists in sports science, endocrinology, ethics, and a half-dozen other fields were consulted and brought in by the IOC as a focus group on the issue.
Some might remember the boxing controversy during the 2024 Paris Olympics — as awful as they were — where Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned her bout against Imane Khelif after 46 seconds. The fight sparked massive controversy due to the IOC permitting Khelif to participate despite the International Boxing Association disqualifying the “woman.”
Despite the vehement defense of leftists on social media that Khelif was neither transgender nor a man, Khelif in February 2026 admitted to having the SRY gene. As the astute reader will recall, the SRY gene is found on the Y chromosome … which 99.9 percent of the time only men have.
The WTA deserves credit for acting before a controversy forced its hand. No championship had to be disputed and no social media firestorm was required to establish a clear boundary. For women’s sports more broadly, the rules are once more being dictated by the competitive realities that never should have been controversial in the first place.
Women’s sports exist for female athletes, and fairness requires keeping it that way.
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