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Renée Richards
In 1976, Renée Richards was all primed to play in the women’s division in the U.S. Open, except that she had been born male.
The United States Tennis Association attempted to ban her from the Open, citing a women-born-women policy, but Richards filed suit. In a landmark verdict, the New York Supreme Court ruled in her favor. Despite the victory, Richards endured public scrutiny, the loss of family and friends, and brutal discrimination from the tennis world.
“It didn’t stop the WTA from trying to ban Richards from pro tournaments until she sued, or 25 of the 32 women in the field from withdrawing from the first tournament she played,” ESPN writes. “Crowds rooted against her. If Richards turned on a TV at the time, she could’ve found Johnny Carson and Bob Hope snickering on The Tonight Show that Richards was her own “mixed doubles team.”
Eventually Richards left tennis and returned to a successful ophthalmology practice in California. But her very public battle blazed a trail for future trans athletes like MMA fighter Fallon Fox and NCAA basketball player Kye Allums.
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