London, 12 December (Hindustan Times). Transgender female non-binary individuals who were considered male at birth will be barred from competing in the women’s category of several domestic tennis tournaments in Britain from next month, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) announced on Wednesday.
British tennis’s governing body released a new transgender and non-binary policy and said it must strike a balance between competitive fairness and inclusion.
These rules do not apply to tournaments held in the UK such as Wimbledon or the ATP and WTA as the LTA is not in charge of those competitions. Domestic paddle is included, but international events held in the UK are not included.
It is clear that tennis and paddle are gender-affected sports – with the average man having an advantage when playing against the average woman, the LTA said in a statement. This includes longer levers to reach and hit the ball and increased cardio-vascular capacity which means being able to move around the court more easily.
The LTA said there was broad consensus that this advantage was likely to be largely retained among trans women, making competition potentially unfair.
The policy will come into effect on January 25 and will apply to leagues and tournaments ranging from national championships to local level, involving players from different clubs and venues. Events held with players from only one location, such as club championships and social tournaments, will be able to set their own policy as the aim is primarily to enable people to feel part of their local tennis community while having fun. , To provide social competition.
“We want to encourage local venues to ensure they are as inclusive as possible for trans and non-binary individuals, and provide them with opportunities to compete in a friendly environment,” the LTA said.
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Hindusthan News / Sunil Dubey
