A recent Padel event at Rocks Lane in Chiswick resulted in a dispute that has put the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) policy under scrutiny.Chiswick, Washington’s Rocks Lane. Two 14-year-old girls in a doubles team played against Elizabeth Rozin and 39-year-old transgender athlete Bertie Jenner in the quarterfinals of an all-ages Grade One Women’s competition. The younger players prevailed in the opening set, but they were defeated in a tie-break in the third set. This infuriated Russell Quirk, the father of one of the losing pairs, who called Ms. Jenner’s participation in the event “cheating.”
“When my daughter trains four or five times a week and is passionate about Padel and she wants to be good at it, when she is demoralized 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’?” said Mr. Quirk, a former Brentwood Conservative council member and occasional Talk TV political and real estate analyst. in the travel, the cash we spend, the labor, and the effort that is put forth.
Before falling short in the competition’s quarterfinal, Ms. Jenner demonstrated compassion for her rivals. The qualifying Padel and tennis coach was not permitted to compete in the men’s section of the event with her brother as her partner due to her LTA registration as a woman. The 2019 LTA transgender policy states that athletes are required to compete “in the gender they represent.” Ms. Jenner is recognized as a woman by law. After participating in a tournament more than a year ago, she has requested that the LTA hasten the policy review process, which she supports.