LONDON 鈥 Britain鈥檚 Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has updated its rules to bar transgender women from competing in national and inter-club female competitions, the governing body said on Wednesday.
The LTA said that while it was committed to making the sport welcoming and inclusive for everyone, it had a responsibility to ensure competition was fair.
鈥淚t is clear that tennis and padel are gender-affected sports 鈥 the average man has an advantage when playing against the average woman,鈥 it said in a statement.
鈥淭his includes longer levers with which to reach and hit the ball and increased cardio-vascular capacity means being able to get around the court more easily.
鈥淭he current broad consensus, including the conclusion of the review carried out by the Sports Councils Equality Group, is that this advantage is likely to be retained to a significant degree in trans women, making competition potentially unfair.鈥
The LTA said the revised policy will come into effect on Jan. 25 and would cover 鈥渟pecified competitions鈥 involving individuals from different clubs, venues or counties up to national level events. 鈥 Reuters
