World number one Aryna Sabalenka has thrown her support behind the Women’s Tennis Association’s controversial new eligibility rules requiring players to undergo genetic sex screening.
Speaking at the Canadian Open in Toronto, the Belarusian star said she believed the new measures were necessary to preserve fairness in women’s professional tennis.
“I think it’s really important to keep the fairness in our tour,” Sabalenka said.
“Biologically, men are way stronger than women, so I feel like it would not really be fair for women to compete against biological men.”
Her comments were made in reference to transgender participation in women’s tennis and follow the WTA’s decision to introduce a new Women’s Eligibility Policy based on what it defines as biological sex.
The policy came into effect on 21 July 2026 and replaces the WTA’s previous eligibility rules, which permitted transgender women to compete under specified hormonal conditions.
What does the WTA’s new policy require?
Under the new rules, players wishing to compete in WTA tournaments must undergo a one-time screening for the presence of the SRY gene.
The genetic screening can be conducted using saliva, a cheek swab or a blood sample. A negative result generally establishes eligibility for the women’s category and, barring concerns about the accuracy of the result, does not need to be repeated.
A positive SRY result does not automatically produce a final ruling that a player is ineligible.
Instead, the player is prevented from competing while a further medical assessment is undertaken. The policy provides exceptions for some people with differences of sex development, including complete androgen insensitivity syndrome, where specified criteria are met.
The WTA says the policy is designed to “preserve the integrity of women’s professional tennis and maintain fair competition conditions”, while stressing that its distinction between sex and gender identity is not intended to question anybody’s dignity or identity.
There are no known transgender women currently competing on the professional women’s tennis tour, and reports surrounding the introduction of the rules noted that transgender athletes had not recently competed at that level.
‘I support it’
Sabalenka said she believed the WTA had taken time to consider the issue before introducing the policy.
“I believe it took them a little while to make the decision. I support it, but for me I am focusing on myself, on my goals, you know, whatever it takes,” she said.
“If they want to test us all, I’m happy to do that. It’s pretty fair, and let’s keep it that way.”
Sabalenka’s position differs in tone from that of fellow star Coco Gauff, who has also said she understands the WTA’s argument about fairness but expressed concern that discussion surrounding the issue has created increasing hostility towards transgender people.
Gauff said she “definitely” supports the trans community and warned against people using sporting eligibility debates as an excuse to attack transgender people more broadly.
Sabalenka previously spoke out on trans athletes
The WTA policy is not the first time Sabalenka has publicly discussed transgender participation in women’s sport.
During a December 2025 appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, she argued that transgender women could retain physical advantages over cisgender female athletes.
“I have nothing to do against [the trans community] but I feel like they still have a huge advantage over the women and I think it’s just not fair to a woman to face basically biological men,” she said.
“It’s not fair. The woman has been working her whole life to reach her limit, and then she has to face a man who is biologically much stronger, so for me I don’t agree with this kind of stuff in sport.”
Those comments were made while Sabalenka was promoting her so-called “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition match against Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios.
Her latest remarks demonstrate that her position has not changed following the WTA’s decision to move away from testosterone-based transgender eligibility requirements towards mandatory genetic screening.
The change is part of a wider shift among international sporting bodies towards sex-based eligibility policies, with the debate continuing to divide athletes, sports administrators, medical experts and LGBTQ+ advocates.
For the WTA, however, the policy is now in force.
And its highest-ranked player has made it clear she supports it.
