The Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) policy is under scrutiny following a dispute during a recent Padel tournament held at Rocks Lane in ChiswickRocks Lane in ChiswickChisw. In the quarterfinals of an all-ages Grade One Women’s competition, two 14-year-old girls in a doubles team faced off against Elizabeth Rozin and Bertie Jenner, a 39-year-old transgender athlete. The younger players won the first set, but in the third set they lost in a tie-break. Russell Quirk, the father of one of the losing pair, was incensed by this and referred to Ms. Jenner’s involvement in the tournament as cheating.
Mr. Quirk, a former Brentwood Conservative council member and sporadic Talk TV political and real estate analyst, stated, “When my daughter trains four of five times a week and is passionate about Padel and she wants to be good at it, when she is demoralised because she plays against someone who is unfairly competing against her because they are not a woman they are a man, biologically, what message does that send to her in terms of ‘what’s the point’? in the travelling and the money that we spend and the toil and the effort that gets put in.”
Ms. Jenner showed empathy for her opponents before losing in the competition’s semifinal. Due to her LTA registration as a woman, the qualified Padel and tennis coach was not allowed to compete in the men’s division of the event with her brother as her partner. According to the LTA’s transgender policy, which was developed in 2019, competitors must compete “in the gender they represent.” Legally, Ms. Jenner is acknowledged as a woman. She has asked the LTA to expedite the policy review process, which she supports, after her involvement in a tournament more than a year ago.
