The world number 4 says she backs the WTA’s new gene testing rule but wants no part of the hostility aimed at trans athletes.
Coco Gauff is not shying away from one of tennis’s most uncomfortable conversations.
The 22 year old spoke to reporters after her opening round win at the Canadian Open on Thursday, addressing the WTA’s newly announced gene testing requirement for players hoping to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Her answer landed somewhere in the middle, and she made clear she was comfortable there.
Gauff draws a distinction on fairness
Gauff said she understands the impulse behind the policy, framing it as an attempt to protect competitive balance in women’s sport. At the same time, she said the rollout has opened the door to something uglier, with critics using the rule as cover to target transgender people who have nothing to do with elite tennis. She described the issue as nuanced, saying she supports both the trans community and the push for fairness in competition, and that she does not see those two positions as being in conflict.
She also took issue with how the change was communicated, saying players learned about the new requirement only after it was already announced rather than being consulted beforehand.
What the WTA policy actually requires
The WTA’s rule calls for a one time gene test for any player who wants to compete in the female category at the 2028 Olympics. The screening can be done through saliva, a cheek swab or a blood sample, and it is already used in track and field. The WTA has said the goal is to preserve equal athletic opportunity and fair competition in the women’s game.
The tennis policy followed a March decision from the International Olympic Committee that restricted the female category at the Olympics and other IOC events to biological females, a change that effectively barred transgender athletes from those competitions.
A wider sports world reckoning
Gauff’s comments land amid a much louder fight playing out in the WNBA. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham drew national attention last month after telling ESPN she wanted to protect young girls in locker rooms and youth sports from competing against biological men, comments she insisted came from a place of care rather than hostility toward trans people.
The fallout followed the Fever on the road. Supporters of Cunningham gathered outside a game against the Minnesota Lynx, while Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a shirt reading Trans Kids Belong and was seen speaking with Cunningham before tip off. Fever teammate Caitlin Clark has repeatedly declined to weigh in directly, saying she would rather keep her focus on basketball.
Why the trans debate keeps following tennis
Gauff’s willingness to address the subject head on sets her apart from athletes who have tried to sidestep it entirely. Rather than picking a side in the broader political fight, she staked out a position that tries to hold two ideas at once, support for competitive fairness and discomfort with the hostility that has followed the policy into public view.
Whether that middle ground satisfies either side of the debate remains to be seen, but Gauff’s remarks add a prominent voice to a conversation that shows no sign of fading before the Los Angeles Games.
