Tennis star Coco Gauff called for nuance in response to a new rule from the Women’s Tennis Association that requires its athletes to undergo genetic tests amid the ongoing debate about transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Many athletes were unaware of the new policy until it was announced in a press release last month, Gauff told reporters at a National Bank Open post-match news conference Wednesday evening. The 22-year-old player said that there could have been more transparency from the WTA but added that she understands the reasoning behind the rule.
Gauff, a two-time major champion, called it “a conversation that is very nuanced.”
“I, I guess, kind of agree with trying to protect the fairness in women’s sports, but also do not like the attack that it is creating —people who don’t really care, but just want to use this as a reason to attack the trans community,” Gauff said. “So I’m not really a big fan of that either.”
She acknowledged that the issue has created “a lot of animosity” towards transgender people and that she supports the trans community.
“I don’t really know how to answer really this question in a way that people aren’t gonna spin it,” Gauff said.
The policy introduced by the WTA last month aligns with the new International Olympic Committee eligibility policy ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics. That policy was instituted in March after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes in women’s sports.
WTA athletes must now undergo an initial test that looks for the SRY gene, which can indicate the presence of the male Y chromosome. The association said that it was looking to determine biological sex and there is “no intent to disrespect or question the gender identity.”
Scientist Andrew Sinclair, who discovered the SRY gene in the 1990s, described it as an overly simplistic way to determine biological sex. He wrote in an opinion for the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, where he is the deputy director, that he was against using this type of testing when he spoke with the IOC ahead of the 2000 Sydney Games.
He wrote in an opinion last year that the SRY gene develops in an embryo but doesn’t always lead to being a biological male.
“If there is a change in the SRY gene so it does not function as usual, then a person can fail to develop testes and be biologically female,” Sinclair wrote. “Yet they carry XY chromosomes and under the World Athletics tests they would be excluded from competition.”
The issue of transgender athletes in women’s sports has been reignited in recent days after Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham seemed to express support for banning trans players in an article published by ESPN.
Cunningham said that she wanted to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
That article sparked a firestorm around Cunningham and a series of rallies outside of Fever games since its July 21 release. Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wore a shirt that read “Trans Kids Belong” during a game against the Fever on Sunday.
Reeve told reporters that she and Cunningham had a conversation during the game, but did not disclose what was said. She also told reporters last week that there is nuance to the conversation that requires solutions, but that she personally comes from “a place of inclusion.”
“The narrative that I think is problematic is to suggest that, number one, that transgender are the biggest problem in women’s sports,” Reeve said. “And I think this is what’s bothersome, is that there’s a faction of people in our country that are making this a massive issue.”
Cunningham’s teammate Caitlin Clark was asked about how the team was navigating the conversation internally.
“I think it’s for leagues and governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions,” Clark said. “Our focus is on basketball.”
