Genetic Test Mandate Shocks Women’s Tennis

The top woman in tennis just backed a genetic testing rule that could reshape who is allowed to play in the women’s game.

Story Snapshot

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka supports the Women’s Tennis Association’s new genetic sex-testing policy and says it protects fairness in women’s tennis.
The rule requires every player on the tour to take a one-time DNA test for the SRY gene, even though no transgender women are currently competing.
Supporters say the policy stops “biological men” from entering the women’s draw; critics warn it invades privacy and can catch women with rare sex-development conditions.
The fight over this rule reflects a deeper struggle over who sets the rules of women’s sport and how far governing bodies can go in the name of fairness.

Sabalenka’s stance: fairness first in women’s tennis

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has become the biggest active voice backing the Women’s Tennis Association’s new transgender eligibility rule, which forces all women’s tour players to undergo a genetic sex test. Asked about the policy, Sabalenka said “it’s very important to maintain fairness in our circuit” and called the testing “pretty fair.” She argued that men are “way stronger” than women and said it is not fair for female players to face “biological men” in professional tennis.

Sabalenka has repeated this message for more than a year, including in a high-profile interview with British host Piers Morgan. In that conversation, she said she has “nothing against” transgender people but believes they still have “a huge advantage over the women” even when hormone rules are in place. She framed the issue around women who spend their lives training within female limits, only to be asked to compete against someone who developed with male strength and reach. For Sabalenka, that gap makes mixed competition “not fair” as sport, even if it is accepted in other parts of life.

What the new WTA genetic rule actually does

The Women’s Tennis Association’s updated eligibility policy says every player on the women’s tour must take a one-time DNA test that looks for the SRY gene, which helps determine biological sex. The test can be done with a cheek swab, saliva sample, or blood draw. This replaces older rules that allowed transgender women to compete if they declared their gender as female and kept testosterone below a set level for at least two years. The WTA says the change is meant “to preserve the integrity of women’s professional tennis and maintain fair competition.”

Under public descriptions of the policy, a positive SRY result may trigger further medical review and could lead to ineligibility for the women’s category. Genetic experts have warned this test does not show whether someone went through male puberty or how their body uses testosterone. That means some cisgender women born with differences of sex development could test positive and be pushed into extra scrutiny just to prove they belong in the category they have always lived in. Critics say this is a heavy burden for players who are not transgender but happen to have rare genetic traits.

Player backlash, privacy fears, and a wider pattern in sport

Reports say many players first learned about the new testing rule through the media, not through direct communication from Women’s Tennis Association leaders, and that some feel blindsided and outraged. Commentators note that the WTA has not yet offered a detailed public medical memo or clear explanation of how genetic data will be stored, protected, or destroyed. For athletes already wary of “big institutions,” the idea of handing over DNA to a sports body they do not fully trust raises real concerns about bodily autonomy and possible misuse of deeply personal information.

🎾 Aryna Sabalenka is backing the WTA’s new transgender eligibility policy.

Sabalenka says it is unfair for biological men to compete in women’s tennis, adding that while the WTA “took a little while” to make the decision, she believes it ultimately made the right call.

She… https://t.co/12HYC6nt1K pic.twitter.com/sdBMuDEyMv

— The Globe & News (@TheGlobeNewt) August 4, 2026

This fight in tennis fits a broader pattern across global sport, where governing bodies move from hormone-based rules to stricter bans or genetic screens and then face backlash for how those rules are made and enforced. On one side are women who feel their category is under threat from policies shaped by politics rather than biology, and who see the new rule as a long-delayed defense of fairness. On the other side are athletes and advocates who see a powerful, unaccountable institution forcing women to give up DNA and medical privacy, even when there is no current transgender player on tour, and worry that once such testing is normal, it will be hard to roll back.