Coco Gauff discusses WTA's new trans athlete policy amid controversy

U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff said she understands the goals of the new requirement, but remains concerned about attacks on transgender athletes.

Coco Gauff admitted Wednesday that she was conflicted on the new gene testing policy used to prevent trans athletes from competing with women.

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.

Coco Gauff understands the reasoning behind the WTA Tour’s newly introduced gene-testing policy. What the two-time Grand Slam champion doesn’t favor is how politicized the discussion becomes in generating what Gauff called, “animosity towards the trans community.” To her, the topic requires a more nuanced conversation, which is why Gauff provided what she called a nuanced answer, in speaking to reporters at the Canadian Open in Toronto following her opening-match win over Kayla Day on Wednesday.

Coco Gauff has criticized people using the WTA Tour’s gene testing policy to create “animosity towards the trans community”. Speaking at the Canadian Open in Toronto, the two-time Grand Slam champion said “I definitely support the trans community, but I also support the need of creating fairness in sport” when asked about the tour’s decision to introduce a one-off test for the SRY gene. “I understand the reasoning behind it. I do think that this kind of conversation has created a lot of animosit

The WTA has recently come out with an eligibility policy involving gender screening. Coco Gauff has now addressed it, while defending the trans community from attack.

The WTA’s newly introduced one-time gene testing policy, mandatory for players to remain eligible to compete on the Tour, has sparked widespread debate. After Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff has also weighed on the controversial measure.

WTA world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka recently weighed in on the WTA’s new mandatory one-time gene testing policy for all players, which would be a requirement to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and was announced last month. The WTA updated its women’s eligibility policy to include gender screening “based on biological sex,” with…