Tennis legend Martina Navratilova supports banning trans women from female sports

Martina Navratilova has had her say on World Athletics' decision to ban transgender athletes, calling it 'a step in the right direction'.

Speaking on the matter, she also said 'it seems the world is finally waking up and using common sense. I just hope other sports can quickly follow suit'.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has been accused of transphobia for suggesting trans women who compete in women's sports are 'cheating'.

Do trans women have an unfair advantage over their biologically female rivals? pic.twitter.com/f3CdLwABcA

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 4, 2019

In the past, the tennis legend has been very outspoken on her views surrounding trans eligibility in sport.

A few years back, she angered some people when she said that allowing transgender women to compete with cisgender females is "insane and it’s cheating... it is surely unfair on women who have to compete against people who, biologically, are still men".

Now - with the debate as rife as ever - she has doubled down, voicing her support for trans women being excluded from competing in female elite sports.

"I have long been vocal on this matter, as I have educated myself on what the realities are for trans women competing against biological females," she wrote for The Times.

"The other one nobody talks about is the airway through which we breathe, which is 25 to 50 per cent larger in men.

"If you can breathe faster and deeper, that is a massive advantage in top-level sport.

"That’s before you touch upon what could be something like five inches of height difference between somebody who was born male and a biological female, with a difference in arm length of two inches."

In her argument, the 18-time Grand Slam champion about the 'advantage' trans women have over biological females.

"It’s no accident that we don’t hear complaints about trans men competing against men," Navratilova added.

"They don’t have the physical advantages of a male who has gone through puberty.

"But the advantage trans women have is obviously unfair."

She also said that 'testosterone is the biggest driving force' in the gender divide among athletes because 'the effects of male puberty are irreversible' even with the use of transition medication.

As an alternative, Navratilova has suggested introducing an 'open category'.

"It would be a category for all-comers: men who identify as men; women who identify as women; women who identify as men; men who identify as women; non-binary - it would be a catch-all," she said said.

"Biological females are most likely to compete in the biological female category, as that’s their best shot at winning and it maintains the principle of fairness.

"With an 'open' category there are no question marks, no provisos, no asterisks, no doubts."

The 66-year-old added: "It’s a simple solution."