WTA introduces mandatory one-time genetic testing: SRY result becomes a condition for competing in the women's category
The Women's Tennis Association, WTA, is introducing a new eligibility policy from July 21, 2026, under which every player wishing to compete in tournaments will have to confirm her eligibility through a one-time test for the presence of the SRY gene. According to the WTA's official document, the sample may be collected from saliva, a buccal swab taken from the inside of the cheek, or blood, and the result will be delivered directly to the organization's medical director. A negative result will generally remain valid permanently unless justified doubts arise regarding its accuracy. A positive result will not automatically constitute a final ban from competing, but it will temporarily make the player ineligible for competition until an additional medical assessment has been completed.
The new rules represent a major change in the way the WTA regulates the women's category. Instead of the previous system, which for some transgender and non-binary players included declaring a gender identity and maintaining testosterone concentrations below a prescribed threshold, the new policy is explicitly based on biological sex as defined by the organization itself. The WTA states that the aim is to preserve the integrity of women's professional tennis and ensure fair conditions of competition, while simultaneously committing to respect the dignity of all players. The organization has also announced a communication program for players and measures to protect confidentiality and sensitive medical data.
The rule applies from July 21, but implementation will take place during 2026
The WTA's official policy states that the new regime enters into force on July 21, 2026, and replaces the previous version of the regulations from that date. The document forms an integral part of the WTA Rules and is binding on players, officials, tournament staff, members of players' teams, and other persons falling under the organization's jurisdiction. The WTA has announced that testing will begin during 2026, with appropriate privacy safeguards and an information program for participants. The published text does not establish a single common deadline by which all currently active players must be tested, but instead provides that a player must undergo testing when requested to do so by the WTA.
According to the organization's explanation, an eligibility policy in women's professional tennis has existed since 1975 and has occasionally been amended in line with developments in international sport. The latest revision, the WTA states, involved consultations with members of the organization and consideration of new standards emerging in other women's sports. The WTA Board then approved a rule intended to establish a uniform criterion for entry into the women's category. At the same time, the organization emphasizes that the distinction between biological sex and gender identity in the document serves exclusively to implement the rule and is not intended to challenge anyone's identity or dignity.
What SRY testing will look like
Every player wishing to compete will have to sign a form confirming that she is aware of the rules, consents to testing, and undertakes to cooperate in any additional medical examinations. The WTA may arrange the test through its own authorized services or recognize a result produced by another sports governing body or an appropriate third party, provided that it considers the result sufficiently reliable. The laboratory will submit the result to the WTA's medical director, and refusal to provide a sample or incomplete cooperation will result in loss of eligibility to compete. The organization may temporarily remove a player from competition until it receives the signed form and confirmation that the eligibility requirements have been met.
SRY is an abbreviation for the sex-determining region of the Y chromosome. According to the US medical portal MedlinePlus Genetics, this gene, during the usual course of embryonic development, initiates processes that lead to the formation of testes. It is most commonly located on the Y chromosome, but medical literature records rare variations, translocations of genetic material, and differences in sex development as a result of which the mere presence or absence of the SRY gene does not always describe a person's complete anatomical and hormonal profile. For precisely this reason, the WTA defines the test as an initial screening procedure rather than the sole and final medical assessment in every case.
If the test does not detect the SRY gene, the player will be eligible to compete and the result will be considered valid for life, except where there are reasons to suspect an error. If the result is positive, eligibility to compete will be temporarily suspended and an individual assessment will be initiated. In the new document, the WTA's definition considers a person without the SRY gene who has or has had ovaries or so-called streak ovaries to be a biological woman, while it considers a person with the SRY gene who has or has had testes or streak testes to be a biological man. These are regulatory definitions used by the WTA for the purposes of its own competitions, not a general medical classification of all possible variations in sex development.
A positive result triggers an additional medical assessment
Under the regulations, a positive SRY result does not conclude the procedure. The player must then demonstrate to the WTA's medical director that she has complete androgen insensitivity or another difference in gonadal development because of which she has never experienced the physiological effects of male hormonal activity in early childhood or male puberty during adolescence. The document lists chromosomal mosaicism, Klinefelter syndrome, and ovotesticular dysgenesis as possible examples of more complex conditions, but none of these conditions alone guarantees eligibility. According to the wording of the rule, the key issue is whether the person has ever been exposed to the specified physiological effects.
The medical director may request additional laboratory tests, a complete medical history, documentation from the player's physician, and opinions from independent experts. Until it has been established that the requirements have been met, the player may not compete in WTA tournaments. In individual cases, the WTA may grant conditional eligibility, subject to the obligation to continuously meet certain medical or administrative conditions. The organization has undertaken to handle proceedings as quickly as reasonably possible, but the regulations do not establish a fixed deadline for completing a complex assessment.
A special rule also applies to players whom the WTA classifies as biological women and who have used testosterone or another androgen as part of treatment related to gender transition. Under the new policy, they may not compete until four years have passed since the last use of such hormones. At the same time, the rule does not change obligations under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, including the need to obtain a therapeutic use exemption when required for the use of a substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list.
The previous model was based on gender identity and testosterone
The 2024 policy had a different starting point. Its aim was to enable the participation of transgender players and players with differences in sex development who had a female or non-binary gender identity, while simultaneously preserving fair competition. A person whom the WTA then defined as a biological man could become eligible to compete if she signed a declaration stating that her gender identity was female or non-binary and if her blood testosterone concentration had remained below 2.5 nanomoles per liter continuously for at least 24 months before her first appearance. That level then had to be maintained at all times, both during competition and outside competition.
From July 21, 2026, that hormonal pathway will no longer be the fundamental criterion for entry into the women's category. The new policy links eligibility to compete to the absence of the SRY gene, with narrowly defined exceptions for persons with complete androgen insensitivity or other developmental conditions without the physiological effects of male puberty. The WTA is thereby moving from a model that permitted individuals to meet hormonal requirements to a system of prior biological verification for all competitors. The change will also apply to players whose gender identity or sex development has never been questioned, because testing is intended as a universal condition for the women's category.
According to Reuters, there are currently no known transgender women active at any level of professional tennis. The best-known case in the sport's history is Renée Richards, who competed on the women's professional tour from 1977 to 1981 and later also worked as a coach to Martina Navratilova. The debate over the inclusion of transgender athletes and people with differences in sex development has divided prominent names in tennis for years. Reuters recalled that Navratilova and Aryna Sabalenka have publicly expressed concern about competitive fairness, while Billie Jean King has described the exclusion of transgender athletes as discrimination.
Privacy, costs, and protection from harassment
The WTA states that all data, screening results, medical assessments, and documentation collected under the policy will be kept strictly confidential and treated as sensitive personal data. According to the regulations, the information may not be used outside the purpose of implementing the policy or disclosed to third parties, except where necessary to enforce the rules or required by law. As a rule, the organization will not publicly comment on individual cases, except in response to statements made by the player or her representatives. In the event of a provisional suspension or ineligibility, the WTA will consult with the player on whether and how her status will be publicly communicated.
The organization will bear the cost of the SRY testing itself, additional medical examinations, and reports requested by the WTA. Other costs related to compliance with the rules that are not directly covered by the official assessment will be borne by the player. The WTA has also undertaken to offer professional counseling or other appropriate support to a player whose case is undergoing additional review, with the organization covering the cost of such a service. This provision is important because the screening result may unexpectedly reveal sensitive information about a person's own sex development.
The regulations explicitly state that disparaging or publicly questioning someone's eligibility, as well as harassing a player because her appearance does not conform to gender stereotypes, will be regarded as a serious breach of the code of conduct or participant safeguarding rules. In this way, the organization is attempting to separate the formal verification of eligibility from public speculation about individual players. In practice, privacy protection will be one of the key tests of implementation, because the length of the procedure itself or an absence from tournaments could prompt speculation.
Possible sanctions and the right of appeal
A player who refuses testing within the deadline set by the WTA, fails to cooperate in an additional assessment, or knowingly competes despite not meeting the requirements may face disciplinary sanctions. The available measures include a warning, reprimand, a specified period of ineligibility, exclusion from tournaments, a fine, and annulment of results achieved while the player was ineligible. However, the rule states that the medals, titles, prize money, and ranking points of other players will not subsequently be reallocated if it is later established that an opponent competed without being eligible.
A decision on ineligibility, provisional suspension, or disciplinary sanction may be challenged before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS. While the appeal proceedings are pending, the contested decision remains in force unless CAS decides otherwise. The validity or legality of the policy itself may not be challenged within such a sports appeal, but only before a federal or state court in St. Petersburg, Florida, where the WTA is headquartered. The document states that the policy is governed by the law of the State of Florida.
The WTA follows a broader shift in international sport
The new tennis policy is part of a broader movement among major sports organizations toward one-time genetic screening for the women's category. World Athletics introduced testing for the SRY gene from September 1, 2025, for athletes wishing to compete in the women's category at the largest competitions under its jurisdiction. That organization describes the test as a reliable indicator of biological sex, followed by a medical assessment of positive results. In March 2026, the International Olympic Committee adopted a similar policy that will apply from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and will not operate retroactively.
The WTA has thus become another major international sports body to abandon an approach based primarily on testosterone levels and introduce an initial genetic criterion. Supporters of such rules argue that they are necessary to protect fairness in the women's category and prevent advantages associated with male puberty. Opponents warn of the risk of discrimination, invasion of privacy, and the complexity of sex development, which cannot be fully captured by a single genetic marker. The new policy seeks to address some of these concerns through additional medical assessment, exceptions for certain developmental conditions, data protection, and a ban on harassment.
The practical effect of the rule will become clearer when the WTA publishes a more detailed testing schedule and when the first players undergo the procedure. For most competitors, a negative result should mean a one-time administrative obligation that will not have to be repeated. For persons with a positive result, the process may raise complex medical, legal, and personal issues and temporarily halt a career while the assessment is ongoing. From July 21, 2026, the way in which the WTA handles these sensitive cases will be just as important as the rule itself, which places biological sex at the center of eligibility for women's professional tennis.
Sources:
- WTA – official Women's Eligibility Policy, testing rules, exceptions, confidentiality, costs, and appeals procedure (link)
- WTA – previous 2024 policy with rules on gender identity and the testosterone threshold (link)
- Reuters / WHBL – report on the announcement of the new policy, reactions in tennis, and historical context (link)
- MedlinePlus Genetics – medical description of the function of the SRY gene and possible variations in sex development (link)
- World Athletics – official announcement on the introduction of SRY testing in athletics from September 2025 (link)
- International Olympic Committee – official policy for the women's category applicable from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (link)