Overview
- The WTA started administering the mandated one-time SRY gene screen at the Cincinnati Open this week, with players asked to give a cheek swab, saliva sample, or blood test.
- Under the policy a detected SRY gene can trigger ineligibility for the women’s tour unless a player documents a recognized medical exception such as Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.
- Player reaction is divided: Aryna Sabalenka and Martina Navratilova have backed the change on fairness grounds while Coco Gauff and Iga Świątek have taken more cautious or neutral public positions and Jessica Pegula said the rollout has been smooth so far.
- A coalition led by the Sport & Rights Alliance and ILGA World has formally called on the WTA to cancel the policy and medical and human-rights experts warn a single-gene screen oversimplifies sex development and risks harming intersex and transgender people.
- The WTA’s move aligns it with the IOC, World Athletics, and World Boxing, and the policy is likely to prompt legal, ethical, and policy challenges as testing continues across the tour.