Renée Richards: From Trans Pioneer to Opponent of Trans Women in Sports

In 1977, ophthalmologist and former amateur tennis player Dr. Renée Richards sued the United States Tennis Association after the US Open barred her from competing. A New York State Human Rights Court ruled that the tournament had violated the state’s Human Rights Law, allowing Richards to enter the event. She lost in the first round of singles but reached the women’s doubles final. The decision marked the first legal victory for a transgender athlete seeking entry into a major women’s competition.

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Richards, the sport’s first openly transgender woman, entered several tournaments with the backing of Billie Jean King, though some, such as the Italian Open, reversed their acceptance days before the start. On May 14, 1977, she gave a hotel-room interview in Rome after failing a sex test that barred her from the Italian Tennis Open. Her lawsuit and participation in the US Open set a precedent for transgender inclusion in sports, and she later coached Martina Navratilova to two Wimbledon titles.

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• Age at retirement: 47 (1981)

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• 1976 match at the Tennis Week Open in South Orange, New Jersey: won 6-2, 0-6, 6-1

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• 1979 women’s 35-and-over championship at Flushing Meadow: defeated Hall of Famer Nancy Richey, prompting Richards to reassess her view on fairness

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Richards, now 92, describes herself as a “steadfast supporter of trans rights” yet opposes trans women competing in women’s sports. She argues that male puberty confers lasting physiological advantages—larger bones, greater cardiac output, and higher muscle mass—that are not fully mitigated by hormone therapy. Richards says she once believed age offset any advantage, but her victory over Richey led her to conclude otherwise.

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She also rejects the “locker-room” argument, calling concerns about trans women in women’s changing areas “stupid” and “gobbledygook,” noting that men’s masseuses were present in women’s locker rooms during her era. Richards emphasizes that the issue is politicized, stating that the small number of trans women athletes does not justify exclusionary rhetoric.

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Martina Navratilova, a Hall of Fame champion, is a vocal opponent of trans women playing women’s sports. While she liked Richards personally, Navratilova’s public stance aligns with broader calls to bar trans women from women’s competitions.

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• “It’s often sort of easier to accept someone from a marginalized group when you have a personal relationship with them, as opposed to the abstraction of trans people who might be seen as coming to steal scholarships or prize money from cisgender women.” — Julie Kliegman

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• “It’s not like if trans people and their allies concede on the sports question, then they’re going to gain ground in areas like gender-affirming care or public bathroom usage,” — Julie Kliegman

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The sources present Richards’ personal evolution from viewing her participation as “fair” to labeling it “unfair” after specific match experiences, but no quantitative studies are cited to substantiate her physiological claims. Additionally, while Richards asserts that trans women’s presence in sports is a political myth, the extent of their participation across all levels of competition remains undocumented in the provided material.

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Richards’ new biography, *Finding Renée Richards: The Groundbreaking Story of Tennis’s Trans Pioneer* by Julie Kliegman, brings her current perspectives to public attention, potentially influencing ongoing debates over transgender inclusion in athletics.

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