Sharron Davies has launched a blistering attack on the Lawn Tennis Association after being accused of "encouraging trans women" to compete against biological females.
Speaking to GB News, the former Olympian branded the governing body "ludicrous", declaring their actions are "virtue signalling cowardice".
The LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) has been accused of "breaking the law" after reports of the body "encouraging transgender women to compete against female players" in amateur competition.
In January, the tennis body banned transgender women from competing in the women's category for most tournaments.
GB News
|Sharron Davies hit out at the Lawn Tennis Association for 'encouraging trans players' to compete against women
Hitting out at the LTA, Davies told GB News: "They're not banning anyone, they're just stopping biological males from competing against biological females. It's really that simple.
"And what's very frustrating is basically they're saying if you're really good, we're going to give you fair and safe sport. If you're not quite so good, we're not going to give you fair and safe sport. What a ludicrous situation we're actually in."
Citing the judgment by the Supreme Court earlier this year, Davies explained: "It's been 100 days now since the Supreme Court ruling, and it made absolutely clear that a women's event means that it's a women's event only if it has biological females in it.
"If it has any form of man in it, no matter how they call themselves, what they want to wear, then it's a mixed sex event."
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|The Lawn Tennis Association has been accused of 'breaking the law' by encouraging transgender women to play in internal competitions for female players
Expressing her outrage at the impact on amateur-level tennis, Davies stated: "They are encouraging local clubs to not actually follow the law, to not give fair sport to pathways, to recreational, to juniors. These people now are just expected to have an unfair sport.
"And how do we get the elites if we don't make sure that the way forward and the way through is fair? What is the logic of treating amateur tennis differently to elite tennis? There is no logic."
Pointing out that there are still 30 sports that "don't protect the female category", she told GB News: "We still have 30 sports in the UK that don't protect the female category, including things like taekwondo and gymnastics. Some of them still rely on this old fashioned testosterone levels, which everyone knows is absolute rubbish.
"I just don't understand why we're still here, it's really cowardice. It's virtual signalling cowardice in the fact that these organisations will just not come out and properly protect their female athletes, and I find it so depressing in 2025 that that's where we are."
GB News
|Davies told GB News that the actions of the governing body are 'ludicrous'
Noting the success of women's football thanks to the England team winning the Euros tournament at the weekend, Davies concluded that there is "still an awful long way to go" in supporting female athletes.
Davies said: "Yes, we had great stuff at the weekend, but we're still an awful long way before many forms of equality. The sad truth about women's footballers is we have these massive peaks and troughs. So everyone is loving the women's game right now, but then it will disappear off the radar again."
In a statement, a spokesman for the Lawn Tennis Association said: "The policy we published in December 2024 prohibits transgender women from playing in the female category in any competition between clubs or venues from the highest level of domestic competition.
"We oversee all the way down to the two small village clubs playing against each other. However, it's for clubs to decide the policy for their own internal competitions."