Chrissy64_uk
16-04-2009, 07:55 PM
Intersex Tennis Player Cleared for Women's Tour
By David Salter |
German tennis player Sarah Gronert has been cleared to compete in the Women's Tennis Association tour, which will make her the first intersex player to play in the top league of professional tennis.
Gronert was born with both male and female characteristics, but underwent surgery at age 19 and is legally a woman. WTA rules state that if a player's eligibility is questioned she must undergo "gender verification to determine sexual status."
After doing so, the WTA spokesman confirmed that a "medical delegate determined that sufficient independent and verifiable evidence existed to conclude that Miss Gronert had satisfied all of the requirements of the tour rules in order to be eligible to participate in tour events."
Gronert's case is somewhat reminiscent of that of Renee Richards, a post-operative male-to-female transsexual who was barred from competing in the WTA tour in the 1970s until a U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave her the legal right to compete in the 1977 U.S. Open. After reaching the quarterfinals the following year in that tour, Richards later retired and became a coach for luminaries such as famed lesbian tennis star Martina Navratilova.
In Gronert's case, however, the player was in essence born female and has lived her entire life as such, actively and legally.
Gronert has won two titles in the ITF, the tennis association just below the WTA, and has advanced nearly 200 places over the past year to her current world rank of 555. After the WTA ruling, Gronert is now eligible to compete in any women's event that rank or invitation merits.
By David Salter |
German tennis player Sarah Gronert has been cleared to compete in the Women's Tennis Association tour, which will make her the first intersex player to play in the top league of professional tennis.
Gronert was born with both male and female characteristics, but underwent surgery at age 19 and is legally a woman. WTA rules state that if a player's eligibility is questioned she must undergo "gender verification to determine sexual status."
After doing so, the WTA spokesman confirmed that a "medical delegate determined that sufficient independent and verifiable evidence existed to conclude that Miss Gronert had satisfied all of the requirements of the tour rules in order to be eligible to participate in tour events."
Gronert's case is somewhat reminiscent of that of Renee Richards, a post-operative male-to-female transsexual who was barred from competing in the WTA tour in the 1970s until a U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave her the legal right to compete in the 1977 U.S. Open. After reaching the quarterfinals the following year in that tour, Richards later retired and became a coach for luminaries such as famed lesbian tennis star Martina Navratilova.
In Gronert's case, however, the player was in essence born female and has lived her entire life as such, actively and legally.
Gronert has won two titles in the ITF, the tennis association just below the WTA, and has advanced nearly 200 places over the past year to her current world rank of 555. After the WTA ruling, Gronert is now eligible to compete in any women's event that rank or invitation merits.