WTA makes controversial decision directly impacting female players ahead of the US Open

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has made a potentially controversial ruling which will come into effect tomorrow (July 21) and directly impact the upcoming US Open.

With the North American hard-court swing fast approaching, players are gearing up for events – including the Washington Open, Montreal Open and Cincinnati Open – across the continent before the fourth major of the season – the US Open – takes place at Flushing Meadows in New York in late August.

Men’s singles World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz is expected to return after missing both the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist injury.

Women’s singles World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, will be hoping to return to winning ways after failing to get past the quarter-finals in any of the three majors so far this season.

The Belarusian previously won the US Open in 2024 and 2025.

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And ahead of the tournament, Sabalenka and her fellow WTA stars will be required to undergo a genetic sex test to compete on the Tour.

In an updated version of the women’s eligibility criteria, players will now need to undergo a cheek swab, blood and saliva test to detect the presence of the SRY gene, which develops male characteristics and is part of the Y chromosome.

Tennis players will only be required to take the test once and, if they return a negative result, they will be free to compete on the WTA circuit – which includes all four majors.

If they fail a test, they may face disciplinary action in line with the document they are expected to sign ahead of testing.

The update is a change from the 2024 policy, which stated that transgender women must lower their testosterone levels to 2.5 nmol/L for a two-year period in order to compete. It should be noted that there are no known transgender players currently signed to the WTA.

"The WTA's women's eligibility policy is designed to promote equal athletic opportunities in women's professional tennis and maintain fair competition for all players participating in WTA tournaments," the WTA wrote in a statement.

"Since first being introduced in 1975, the eligibility policy has undergone periodic review in light of developments across international sport.

"Following the most recent review, which included consultation with WTA members and evolving standards across women's sport, the WTA board approved an updated WTA women's eligibility policy beginning in 2026 based on biological sex."

The WTA also said it “recognises” that the ruling involves a “sensitive and complex issue” and maintained that it wants to treat players with “dignity” while still implementing the policy.

A similar policy was introduced by World Athletics and World Boxing in 2025.

Aryna Sabalenka speaks out on transgender athletes

Sabalenka addressed the issue ahead of the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ clash with Nick Kyrgios in December 2025.

When asked about transgender athletes, she told journalist Piers Morgan: "That's a tricky question. I have nothing to do against them.

"But I feel like they still got a huge advantage over the women and I think it's not fair on women to face basically biological men."

She added: "It's not fair. The woman has been working her whole life to reach her limit and then she has to face a man, who is biologically much stronger, so for me I don't agree with this kind of stuff in sport."