On Wednesday, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) updated its transgender and non-binary policy for players in British national competitions. It has placed greater restrictions on transgender women and non-binary players born male from competing in the higher-level tournaments.
The updated policy applies only to national tennis and padel competitions under the LTA’s responsibility. The policy will therefore not apply to international events held in the UK and organised by the likes of Wimbledon, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the International Tennis Federation (ITF) or International Padel Federation (FIP).
The current WTA Gender Participation Policy from 2015 is also under review in light of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) transgender eligibility framework published in 2021.
Currently, the WTA permits transgender women to participate if they have declared their gender as female for a minimum of four years, have lowered testosterone levels and agree to testing procedures.
The LTA stated that it consulted scientific evidence, such as research from the Sports Councils Equality Group. The views of those directly affected were also considered. The LTA voiced: “We have tried to find the right balance between both responsibilities [inclusion and fairness], aware that there are diverse and reasonable opinions on where that balance should be struck.”
The LTA referred to differing physical attributes between biological men and women within the policy update: “This includes longer levers with which to reach and hit the ball and increased cardio-vascular capacity means being able to get around the court more easily.”
It continued: “The current broad consensus, including the conclusion of the review carried out by the Sports Councils Equality Group, is that this advantage is likely to be retained to a significant degree in trans women, making competition potentially unfair.”
Due to this consensus, the LTA has decided to split competitions in two. There are now Specified and Non-Specified Competitions. Specified Competitions tend to be held between venues. They involve players from different clubs or counties. They have an LTA classification from 1 to 6.
The updated policy will restrict trans women and non-binary players who are biologically male from competing in the women’s Specified Competitions: “These will be competitions ranging from our National Championships through to local county and district leagues, where the purpose is to provide fair competitive opportunities. This policy helps ensure there is a common national standard for all these competitions which is fair.”
Conversely, Non-Specified Competitions cover competitions below LTA Grade or classification 6. This includes social tournaments and club championships for example. Non-Specified Competitions are open to all, with no restrictions.
Local venues can implement their own rules, however. The LTA stated: “We want to encourage local clubs to be as inclusive as possible, offering opportunities for trans and non-binary people to feel part of their local sports community.”
The updated policy applies to non-disabled and disabled competitions and all age groups. It will be enforced from 25 January 2025.
The organisation also expressed that the policy is not set in stone and may be further updated in the future if new evidence and arguments are presented: “We recognise the diversity of opinion around this matter and would like to assure the tennis community that the LTA will continue to listen to all views and keep the Policy under review in response to emerging research and data, and further guidance from other relevant bodies.”
LTA’s full statement can be found here.
