Martina Navratilova insists fans were never against openly lesbian athletes when she came out of the closet in 1981

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who often engages in political debates on social media, has insisted that fans were never opposed to lesbian athletes in sports when she came out of the closet in 1981. The 18-time Grand Slam winner's latest assertion came amid a debate over the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports, which she vehemently opposes.

The former World No. 1 fumed when US Senator Dick Durbin shared his support for allowing trans athletes to compete in women's sports. The Senator has argued that the focus should be on "actually improving women’s sports" as fewer than ten college-level athletes in the US are trans women.

"Senator- each trans identified male athlete impacts hundreds of female athletes," Martina Navratilova wrote in response to a post by Durbin on X. "Why make thousands of women feel uncomfortable, unsafe, and compete in an unfair fight in order to accommodate fewer than 10 TIMS (trans-identified males)?"

Immediately, some users criticized the former tennis star for her comment. One user asked Navratilova:

"Didn’t they use to feel uncomfortable and unsafe with openly Lesbian women in your early playing days?"

"Nope. Never happened darling, try again," Martina Navratilova wrote back.

However, Navratilova had reportedly feared that her coming out could upset the tour's sponsors when few LGBT people were publicly out in the US.

“If I come out and start talking, women’ tennis is going to be hurt," she said as per a "Daily News" story that outed her in 1981, according to the WTA. "I have heard that if I come out – if one more top player talks about this – then Avon will pull out as a sponsor.”

Another commenter claimed that her position gave President-elect Donald Trump's "Make American Great Again" (or MAGA) movement, which fundamentally opposes transgender athletes in women's spaces, a win.

Although Martina Navratilova and Trump appear to hold a similar position on trans athletes in women's sports, the former vehemently disagrees with most of Trump's policies and publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for President in last month's US election.

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Martina Navratilova on why she doesn't want trans athletes in women's sports

Martina Navratilova has courted courted controversy with her takes on trans women - Source: Getty

In another recent social media post, Navratilova clarified why she doesn't think trans athletes should be allowed to participate in women's sports.

"It’s about sex, not race, not religion, not sexuality. But actual biological sex, which doesn’t not evolve," Navratilova claimed.

According to the former tennis star, trans athletes have a biological advantage over cisgender female athletes.