The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has decided that transgender women can’t compete in the female category at most of its tournaments in Great Britain. But this rule doesn’t affect ATP or WTA events.
Great Britain hosts many famous tennis tournaments like Wimbledon, the Cinch Championships at Queen’s Club, Eastbourne International, and Nottingham Open. The Cinch Championships, named the best ATP 500 event of 2024 for the third year by players, will see a two-time Wimbledon winner, Carlos Alcaraz, in 2025.
Jack Draper is also set to play in 2025 if he stays injury-free. Last year, he beat Alcaraz at Queen’s Club but had to skip a pre-season camp with him because of an injury .
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| es Carlos Alcaraz | 21 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
New Rules and Their Impact:
While ATP and WTA set their own rules for their events, meaning LTA’s new policy won’t apply there, it can enforce these changes at domestic competitions. Starting next month, transgender women can’t participate in the female category at most local contests under LTA control.
The decision came after a long review by the Sports Councils Equality Group. They stated that “tennis and padel are gender-affected sports,” suggesting men generally have an advantage over women. Fans might feel this move is controversial yet necessary.
“We’re updating our policy to limit trans women and non-binary individuals assigned male at birth from competing in women’s categories during specified inter-venue competitions,” they explained.
However, LTA aims to keep lower-level matches inclusive and enjoyable. These friendly games won’t be affected by this change as they want everyone to have fun while playing tennis locally.
“For non-specified competitions within venues,” they noted, “the focus is on social enjoyment so people can feel part of their community.” Weekend social tournaments and club championships will remain open for all participants.
What do you think about these changes?
