Martina Navratilova drops 3-word reaction to being wrongly told she's a transgender athlete

Martina Navratilova was shocked at being told that she was a transgender athlete. The 18-time Grand Slam champion is a strong critic of transgender participation in women's sports and has frequently denounced athletes doing so.

Navratilova was criticizing the Democratic Party's Pramila Jayapal for voting against the ban on transgender athletes in school sports when a user claimed they thought the tennis legend was a transgender athlete during her career.

Navratilova, who is a strong supporter of Democrats, said the US Representative was lying, and wrote:

"So the democrats can gaslight just as much as the republicans- these are complete lies from Rep Jayapal."

A user later replied to her post, saying:

"I could have sworn she was trans at one point in her career."

Martina Navratilova, who has been openly gay since 1981, was shocked and seemingly angry at the baseless allegation and said:

"Wow- nice try:)."

Navratilova made her professional debut as a 16-year-old on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour and won her first Major five years later at the 1978 Wimbledon Championships. Although she was known for her mastery of fast low-bouncing grass, the 68-year-old proved herself on all soils with two or more titles in each of the Grand Slam tournaments.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion has been an LGBTQ+ activist following her retirement, and a vocal voice against the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports, recently celebrating the court's verdict against the proposed changes in Title IX rules.

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Martina Navratilova celebrates after outgoing President Joe Biden's Title IX changes get struck down

French Open Tennis Tournament. Roland-Garros 2024. - Martina Navratilova (Source: Getty)

Martina Navratilova was elated after a federal judge in Kentucky struck down the changes proposed by outgoing President Joe Biden in the Title IX regulations. The proposed changes were aimed at increasing the protection of transgender students.

The ruling was delivered by Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky, who argued that the Title IX regulations were meant to prevent discrimination based on sex, and bringing the gender identity would render it meaningless.

"The entire point of Title IX is to prevent discrimination based on sex. Throwing gender identity into the mix eviscerates the statute and renders it largely meaningless," Reeves wrote [as quoted by New York Times).

Navratilova agreed with the Judge and thanked him for the judgment.

"Precisely!!! Thank you Judge!," she wrote.

The changes proposed by the Biden administration in April 2024 sought to prohibit discrimination against transgender athletes based on gender identity, thereby allowing them to compete in women's sports, which is unacceptable to Navratilova.