It's not fair!: Aryna Sabalenka slams trans athletes

Agency:

Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka has spoken out against transgender women competing in professional tennis, describing their participation as unjust to female athletes.

The comments come ahead of the much-anticipated “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition contest against Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, scheduled for December 28 at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena.

When asked if transgender athletes should be eligible to compete in the women’s category, the Belarusian said: “That’s a tricky question. I have nothing against them.”

She added: “But I feel like they still got a huge advantage over the women and I think it’s not fair on women to face basically biological men.”

The four-time Grand Slam champion said: “It’s not fair. The woman has been working her whole life to reach her limit and then she has to face a man, who is biologically much stronger, so for me I don’t agree with this kind of stuff in sport.”

Sabalenka was joined by Nick Kyrgios, who agreed with his future opponent’s view, adding: “I think she hit the nail on the head.”

The two players made their positions clear during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, which was broadcast on Tuesday.

The best-of-three-sets match, organised by Evole, will feature modified rules to account for physical differences between male and female players. Sabalenka’s court area will be reduced by nine per cent to compensate for movement-speed disparities.

Both competitors will also be limited to a single serve per point.