Aryna Sabalenka Criticizes Inclusion of Trans Athletes in Women’s Tennis: “It’s Not Fair to Face a Biological Man”

Aryna Sabalenka will square off against Australia's Nick Kyrgios in the Battle of the Sexes on December 28.

Aryna Sabalenka Criticizes Inclusion of Trans Athletes in Women’s Tennis: “It’s Not Fair to Face a Biological Man”

Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

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Aryna Sabalenka has stirred a massive controversy due to her recent comments on transgender athletes. During her interview with Piers Morgan, Sabalenka was asked whether she agrees with tennis great Martina Navratilova‘s view that trans athletes shouldn’t participate in women’s sports.

Sabalenka will be featuring in the much-awaited Battle of the Sexes event against Nick Kyrgios on December 28 in Dubai. Both players also clashed with each other in mixed doubles at the Gardens Cup in New York.

They were invited for an interview on the Piers Morgan Uncensored, during which, among other topics regarding men’s and women’s sports, the 27-year-old was asked about her opinions on whether trans athletes should feature in women’s sports. Sabalenka, just like 18-time singles Grand Slam champion Navratilova, is convinced that trans inclusion is unfair.

It’s a tricky question. I have nothing against them, but I feel like they’ve still got a huge advantage over women. I think it’s not fair to women to face a biological man. They’ve been working their whole life to reach their 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.

Aryna Sabalenka said

Morgan agreed with Sabalenka’s views and asked Kyrgios whether he too shares the same opinion, to which the Aussie answered in the affirmative.

Kyrgios, who made his comeback to the tour after 18 months at the Brisbane International this year, signed up for just five tournaments. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist was last seen in action on the tour at the Citi Open, where he played doubles with Gael Monfils and lost the match in the first round. Kyrgios won just one match this year – in the first round of the Miami Open against Mackenzie McDonald.

Aryna Sabalenka slams Marta Kostyuk for her testosterone claim

Marta Kostyuk, in an interview this year, claimed Aryna Sabalenka has a biological advantage as she is bigger, taller, and stronger. She suggested the reason the World No.1 dominates so much is that she has a higher testosterone level. Sabalenka minced no words while responding to such claims during the aforementioned interview with Piers Morgan, saying Kostyuk was just making excuses.

Aryna Sabalenka (3)
Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/f)

That is so funny that we even talk about someone like Marta Kostyuk’s comments, but all I hear here is just excuses. And it is actually quite funny because she is a strong girl. She probably has more muscles than I do, and she looks like she looks fit and strong and I think that isn’t the case in all of the matches she lost against all players.

Aryna Sabalenka said

Morgan then joked that Sabalenka shared quite a few pictures of herself in bikinis as a response, showing her ‘feminine’ side. The four-time singles Grand Slam champion also joked that she wanted Kostyuk to see the real picture.

Sabalenka has played Kostyuk four times, winning all the matches. They met this year twice, in the Madrid Open and the Italian Open. The Ukrainian, also the World No.26, finished the season with a 27/20 win-loss record. She failed to win a title.

But Sabalenka dominated from the very beginning as she made the finals of almost every tournament she played, reaching nine finals, winning titles at the US Open, Brisbane International, Miami Open, and the Madrid Open. She reached the finals of the Australian Open as well as the French Open, but failed to go past Madison Keys and Coco Gauff, respectively. Sabalenka also progressed to the championship clash of the WTA Finals but couldn’t defeat Elena Rybakina.

Also read: Nick Kyrgios Claims What Needs to Happen for Alex de Minaur to Win the Australian Open 2026