'Support it,' says Aryna Sabalenka on WTA's sex-testing rule
What's the story
Women's singles world number one Aryna Sabalenka has expressed her support for the Women's Tennis Association's (WTA) controversial new rule. The regulation mandates all players to undergo sex testing before they can compete professionally. The Belarusian star made the statement during a press conference ahead of the Canadian Open, which started on August 2. Here are further details.
Season recap
Sabalenka's 2026 season so far
Sabalenka's 2026 season has been a mix of highs and lows. She reached the Australian Open final and won titles at Indian Wells and Miami, but suffered a quarter-final exit at the French Open.
Most recently, she lost to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Now, Sabalenka is looking to bounce back during the North American hard-court swing starting with the Canadian Open.
Game plan
Back to basics on hard court, says Sabalenka
Ahead of the North American hard-court season, Sabalenka said, "I wouldn't say the clay and grass were that bad. I was trying a couple of things, but they didn't come out as I expected."
She added she's now "back to basics" and hopes it works well on hard court.
Notably, all her Grand Slam titles have come on this surface.
Policy stance
Genetic testing policy in tennis
Along with her hard-court preparations, Sabalenka also shared her views on the WTA's new genetic sex-testing policy.
The rule will come into effect on Tuesday and allows players to undergo a one-time test for the SRY gene using either a cheek swab or blood test.
It replaces previous eligibility rules that allowed transgender women to compete after declaring their gender as female and maintaining testosterone below a certain threshold for at least two years.
Fair play
I support it, says Sabalenka
Sabalenka stressed the importance of fairness in tennis, saying "biologically, men are much stronger than women."
She added it wouldn't be fair for a woman to compete against a biological man.
"I think it took them a while to make this decision and, yes, I support it," she said.
The world number one also said she'd be happy to undergo testing if required by the WTA.
Case
The case of Renee Richards
There are currently no known transgender women competing at any level of professional tennis.
Interestingly, the USA's Renee Richards became the first transgender woman to compete on the WTA Tour after a landmark court ruling in 1977.
She later climbed to a career-high singles ranking of world number 20, making her one of the sport's pioneering figures.