Starting Tuesday, July 22, every tennis player who wants to set foot on a professional circuit court will first have to go through a laboratory. The WTA confirmed that it will apply a single, mandatory genetic test to each of its players, looking for a specific segment of DNA: the SRY gene, which triggers male sexual development.
The measure is not an isolated whim. It comes in line with the new policy of the International Olympic Committee, headed by Kirsty Coventry, and linked to an executive order by the President of the United States, Donald Trump. Previously, it was enough to declare a female identity and keep testosterone levels low for two years; now that criterion disappears completely.
If the test is positive, there is only one way out: clinically prove a condition such as complete androgen insensitivity syndrome. The WTA thus becomes the first independent professional women’s circuit to require this of all its athletes. Necessary protection for women’s sport or an unfair barrier disguised as science?