The Women\u2019s Tennis Association (WTA) has introduced a new policy requiring female players to undergo a one-time genetic test to confirm their eligibility to compete on the women\u2019s tour, marking a significant shift in the governing body\u2019s participation rules.<\/p>\n
The policy, which comes into effect on Tuesday, mandates a screening test for the SRY gene, a gene linked to biological sex determination. The test can be carried out through a cheek swab or a blood sample and will be required only once during a player\u2019s career.<\/p>\n
The WTA confirmed that the move replaces its previous regulations, which allowed transgender women to compete in women\u2019s tournaments if they had declared a female gender identity and maintained testosterone levels below a prescribed threshold for a specified period.<\/p>\n
According to the governing body, there are currently no known transgender women competing at any level of professional tennis.<\/p>\n
A WTA spokesperson said that \u201celigibility to participate in WTA tournaments will be confirmed through a required, one-time screening process for the SRY gene.\u201d The organisation added that the new framework would be implemented alongside an extensive player-engagement programme.<\/p>\n
WTA FOLLOWS OTHER SPORTING BODIES<\/p>\n
The decision aligns the WTA with a growing number of international sporting organisations that have introduced stricter eligibility criteria for female competitions. Earlier, World Athletics announced that athletes wishing to compete in the female category at world-ranking events would have to clear a one-time SRY gene test, while the International Olympic Committee also moved towards mandatory genetic screening for women\u2019s events.<\/p>\n
In a statement to Reuters, the WTA stressed that the screening process would be conducted under \u201cstrict confidentiality and privacy standards\u201d and acknowledged the sensitivity of the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that sex and gender issues can be complex, and we are committed to approaching this topic with dignity and respect,\u201d the organisation said.<\/p>\n
The policy has reignited debate over participation rules in women\u2019s sport, with supporters arguing that genetic testing is necessary to preserve fairness and competitive balance, while critics have described such measures as discriminatory towards transgender athletes and some athletes with differences of sex development (DSD).<\/p>\n
The WTA\u2019s existing women\u2019s eligibility policy states that it seeks to provide a safe and supportive environment for all athletes while maintaining \u201cfair and meaningful competition conditions\u201d in professional tennis. The governing body has also said that the policy will remain subject to periodic review in light of future scientific and legal developments.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
sabyasachi chowdhury<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Jul 20, 2026 15:02 IST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Women\u2019s Tennis Association (WTA) has introduced a new policy requiring female players to undergo a one-time genetic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,33186,10449,47129,85,386981,747,187415,38309,386982,75002,2637],"class_list":["post-812154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-dsd","tag-genetic-testing","tag-ioc","tag-sports","tag-sry-gene","tag-tennis","tag-transgender-athletes","tag-womens-tennis","tag-womens-tour-eligibility","tag-world-athletics","tag-wta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}