"Thanks for being such a force" - Martina Navratilova & Riley Gaines hail each other for challenging inclusion of trans athletes in women's sports

Martina Navratilova and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines hailed each other for challenging the inclusion of trans athletes in women's sports, opining that scientific facts should not be denied in the name of inclusivity.

The US Senate Judiciary Committee recently heard testimony from advocates on the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans, especially those concerned with transgender youths.

After Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson proclaimed that men did not always possess a physical advantage over women, Gaines brought up Venus and Serena Williams losing to then ATP No. 203 Karsten Braasch to point out why that idea did not hold water.

"I can say that there's been this news article about men that think they can beat Serena Williams in tennis. That they think that they could actually score a point on her, and it's just not the case. She is stronger than them," Robinson said.

"Both Serena and Venus lost to the 203rd ranked male tennis player, which, they are phenoms for women," Gaines countered.

Reacting to Kelley Robinson's initial comments, Martina Navratilova took to social media to show her disappointment, tweeting:

"This is just sad."

Riley Gaines then replied to the tweet, stating that she had quoted Navratilova in her opening statement during the hearing. The American also hailed the 18-time Grand Slam champion for being "such a force" in advocating for biological women.

"I quoted you in my opening statement at the hearing. "There will always be significant numbers of boys and men who would beat the best girls and women in head-to-head competition. Claims to the contrary are simply a denial of science.” Thanks for being such a force!!!" Gaines replied.

Navratilova returned the compliment:

"Right back at you, Riley!!!"

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Martina Navratilova against trans athletes competing alongside women at Australian Open

2021 WTA Finals - Day 2

Australian Open director Craig Tiley recently made waves in the tennis world, saying that the organization is in favor of transgender athletes competing alongside women at the tournament in the future.

Tiley's remarks came in light of Tennis Australia holding conversations with the International Tennis Federation and the Women's Tennis Association regarding the same.

"As a sport, we’ve made our position pretty clear … and we are supportive (of transgender inclusion),” Tiley said. “We’re trying to influence the decision now.

"We are an organisation that believes absolutely in inclusivity, in diversity, in equality – so any decision made will need to be aligned with our core values."

Martina Navratilova, though, does not think it's a good idea at all, opining that trans athletes should be included only in their biological category and that Tennis Austraia's decision will lead to biological females losing spots.

"This is not a good idea at all. Trans athletes are included in sports- in the biological category, not in their chosen category. By including trans identified males in females sports, spots for biological females are taken away. I am not ok with that,” Martina Navratilova said.