‘SCIENCE AND MEDICINE’: Chris Evert weighs in on trans athlete debate

The two players faced off six times between 1978 and 1980 with the Evert winning every match.

“The wingspan. The size of the heart. The size of the lungs. The speed. The fast twitch muscles. The testosterone. There’s just everything pointing to the fact that men are quicker, stronger, etc. than women — especially after puberty,” Evert continued.

“For Renee Richards, who I really admire, to come out and say, ‘Now, I think it would be wrong for me to compete’ … she said, ‘Because if I was 25, I would wipe everyone off the court.’ Those are quotes that she said. This isn’t me saying them.”

Richards told Sports Illustrated in 2019 she would have cleaned up at the All England Club if she competed in her prime.

“If I had played in my 20s, I would have won Wimbledon,” she laughed. But if she had won in her 40s?

“I would have quit,” she said. “That wouldn’t have been good for anyone. Not me and not women’s tennis.”

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Trans women competing in elite sports became a hot topic late last year when swimmer Lia Thomas began breaking NCAA records.

This past week, the governing body for international swimming FINA barred transgender swimmers from competing against women unless they transitioned before the age of 12.

Evert says it’s all about the “physicalities of the body” and “has nothing to do with anything else.”

She explained: “I support transgender people very, very much. But, at some point you have to look at science and medicine, and look at that statistic, rather than ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to include transgenders into women’s sports?’”