"Serena Williams made the same basic point" - Martina Navratilova reiterates call for exclusion of transgender athletes from women's sports

Martina Navratilova continued her rallying call for the need for a safe space for women in sports, invoking 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams to push her point across.

In an essay for Genspect, the 18-time Grand Slam champion pointed out that how most males who identify as women have not undergone any hormone treatment, meaning they still retain the physical advantages of men.

The American icon reckons men have natural performance advantages in strength and power, an assessment she maintained that even former transgender tennis player Renee Richards agreed with.

Richards was one of the foremost male-to-female transitioned players on the WTA Tour and later became an advocate for fellow transgender athletes in the sport. After retirement, she went on to coach Navratilova, leading her to two Wimbledon titles.

"Do you realize that, according to a recent Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 69 percent of males who identify as women have not undergone any hormone treatment, and 84 percent have not had surgery? Physically, they’re just men. Even those who undergo any or all medical procedures retain performance advantages in strength, power, height, weight, heart size, and oxygen capacity—which Richards now admits," Martina Navratilova said.

"Even though she was in her forties, she still kicked ass. As she said publicly in 2012, “I know if I’d had surgery at the age of 22, and then at 24 went on the tour, no genetic woman in the world would have been able to come close to me. And so I’ve reconsidered my opinion,” she added.

Navratilova also brought back what Serena Williams said when Andy Murray challenged her to an exhibition match when she appeared on David Letterman's talk show a few years back.

Williams refused to accept the invitation, saying that she would lose 6-0, 6-0 against the three-time Grand Slam champion because of how men are a lot faster and are bigger serves naturally.

"Serena Williams made the same basic point when Grand Slam champion Andy Murray challenged her to an exhibition match in 2013. She refused, explaining to David Letterman, “Andy Murray, he’s been joking about myself and him playing a match. I’m like, ‘Andy, seriously, are you kidding me?’

"If I were to play Andy Murray, I would lose 6-0, 6-0. The men are a lot faster, and they serve harder. They hit harder. It’s just a different game,"” Martina Navratilova said.

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"I support any accommodations so long as male athletes do not take participation opportunities or scholarships from female athletes" - Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilova, Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2023 - Day Fourteen

Martina Navratilova has made it clear that she's not totally against the idea of men who identify as women being accommodated in sports. It's only that she wants them to play in the men's category, which she believes should become the "open category."

Emphasizing that the female category was created to give more opportunities to women, the former World No. 1 proclaimed that she's ready to fight tooth and nail to exclude men from invading that safe space.

"Can males who identify as women be accommodated in sports? Of course. They can play in the men’s category. The men’s category can be redefined as “open.” Or they can create their own events, as the Gay Games have done every four years since 1982. I support any accommodations so long as male athletes do not take participation opportunities or scholarships from female athletes," Martina Navratilova said.

"The female category was created to provide opportunities for women to compete fairly. It was always intended to exclude males. We need to keep excluding them. I promised to educate myself, and I have. I plan to keep advocating for fair competitions—and equal rights—for female athletes. I hope you’ll join me," she added.