World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka gave full-throated support to the Women's Tennis Association's new mandatory genetic testing policy, a move that makes the WTA the first professional sports league to screen players for biological sex.
Sabalenka, the Belarusian four-time Grand Slam champion, addressed the policy at a press conference during the 2026 National Bank Open, telling reporters she welcomed the testing and urged the tour to hold the line. Her comments landed as international sports bodies from track and field to boxing have moved toward similar eligibility standards, and as the International Olympic Committee prepares its own sex-based screening ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The WTA's policy, which took effect July 21, requires every player to provide a one-time cheek swab, blood, or saliva sample. The test screens for the SRY gene, a DNA segment found on the Y chromosome that triggers male sex development and indicates the presence of testes. A player who tests negative qualifies immediately. A positive result triggers further review before any eligibility determination. Players who refuse the test must sign a document acknowledging that their refusal could lead to disciplinary action.
The policy replaced a previous WTA framework, updated in 2024, that had allowed biological males who identified as transgender to compete in the women's category provided their testosterone levels remained below 2.5 nanomoles per liter for two years. The new rule draws a harder line: the WTA now defines a "biological male" as any individual carrying the SRY gene, regardless of legal sex or stated gender identity.
Asked about the testing in Montreal, Sabalenka did not hedge. She told reporters:
"I think it's really important to keep the fairness in our tour. It's obviously, biologically, the men are way stronger than women, so I feel like it would be not really fair for the woman to compete against biological men."
She went further, saying the WTA had taken too long to act but that the result was worth the wait:
"I think it took them a while to make this decision and, yes, I support it.... If you want to test us all, I will gladly do so, it's pretty fair, and let's keep it that way."
Sabalenka's willingness to speak plainly stands out. For years, female athletes across multiple sports have faced intense pressure to stay quiet on the question of whether biological males belong in women's competition. Many who spoke up were labeled bigots, faced sponsor pressure, or drew organized social-media campaigns against them. WNBA player Sophie Cunningham refused to back down after facing similar backlash for her public stance on the issue.
Sabalenka's comments carry particular weight because of her position. She is not a retired player offering commentary from the broadcast booth. She is the current world No. 1, the most dominant active player in the women's game, and she put her name behind the policy without qualification.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who has been one of the most prominent voices in women's sports pushing for sex-based eligibility standards, praised the WTA's decision. Navratilova said she had played "no part in this particular policy" but was "very happy that we at the WTA are clear that we are a women's association and only women, as in females, can compete at the highest level of women's tennis."
Navratilova's framing, "women, as in females", mirrors the WTA's own policy language. The association stated that it updated its eligibility rules "based on biological sex" to "preserve the integrity of women's professional tennis and maintain fair competition conditions for all players." The WTA also said there was "no intent to disrespect or question the gender identity or the dignity of any person."
That diplomatic addendum did not satisfy critics. Human rights groups and activist organizations have pushed back against the policy, though the specifics of their objections were not detailed in available reporting.
The WTA did not act in a vacuum. Its genetic testing requirement aligns with an IOC eligibility framework introduced in March 2025, which was shaped in part by President Trump's executive order aimed at keeping biological males out of women's sports. The IOC's own sex-based screening will be mandatory for athletes competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
World Athletics, World Boxing, and governing bodies in skiing have adopted or announced similar sex-based eligibility testing. The pattern is clear: one by one, international sports organizations are moving away from testosterone-threshold policies, which critics long argued were inadequate, and toward genetic screening that draws a bright biological line.
The Supreme Court reinforced that trajectory when it upheld state bans on biological males competing in girls' sports in a landmark 6-3 ruling. That decision gave legal backing to the principle that sex-based categories in athletics serve a legitimate purpose, a principle the WTA's new policy now applies at the professional level.
The legal and policy battles are far from over. Advocacy groups like the ACLU have continued to challenge sex-based rules in adjacent areas, including a Wisconsin case where the organization argued that the Supreme Court's sports ruling has no bearing on locker room and restroom policies.
The WTA's previous transgender eligibility framework, updated in 2024, permitted biological males to compete in the women's category if they maintained testosterone levels below 2.5 nanomoles per liter for at least two years. That threshold was supposed to level the playing field.
It didn't. Testosterone suppression does not reverse the skeletal, muscular, and cardiovascular advantages that male puberty confers. Larger frames, greater lung capacity, denser bones, and longer limbs remain even after years of hormone therapy. The WTA's shift from a hormone-based standard to a genetic one acknowledges what many female athletes and sports scientists had argued for years: the old policy was built on a flawed premise.
The new rule is simple by comparison. One test. One gene. A binary result. Players either carry the SRY gene or they don't. Those who don't, play. Those who do, face further review. Those who refuse the test entirely accept the possibility of discipline. No two-year waiting period. No ongoing hormone monitoring. No ambiguity.
Several open questions remain. The WTA has not publicly detailed what "closer scrutiny" involves for players who test positive for the SRY gene, or what specific disciplinary measures apply to those who decline testing. Whether the policy will face legal challenges, and in which jurisdictions, is also unclear.
But the direction is unmistakable. At the state level, in federal courts, and now across the most prominent international sports organizations, the consensus is hardening around a straightforward proposition: women's sports are for women. Biological sex, not self-declared identity, determines who competes.
Political figures have tried to straddle both sides of this debate for years, dodging questions on the campaign trail while quietly accommodating activist demands in office. The WTA, to its credit, stopped straddling. So did Sabalenka.
When the world's best female tennis player says the policy is fair and volunteers for the test herself, it gets harder for the opponents of common sense to claim they're defending women.
