Martina Navratilova reminds fans her transgender coach Renee Richards herself advocated for women-only spaces in sports

Martina Navratilova recently cast her mind back to how transgender former tennis player and coach Renee Richards herself acknowledged that she shouldn't have competed against biological women. After her playing career, Richards became a coach and worked with Navratilova from 1981 to 1983, a period during which, the Czech-American won three singles Major titles.

On Monday, January 6, Martina Navratilova shared an article published by the Washington Examiner titled 'Democratic congresswomen should support Mace's women's rights bills'. The former World No. 1 was in agreement with the content in the article. Navratilova, despite being a fierce critic of the Republicans, supports US Representative Nancy Mace and the Republicans' stance on trans individuals accessing biological women's spaces.

"And for those who complain this piece was published by the Washington Examiner- it’s because papers like Washington Post or New York Times won’t publish it," Navratilova captioned her post.

Soon, the 18-time singles Grand Slam champion found herself in an exchange with another X user. The user quizzed Martina Navratilova about what her take on Richards' playing career was. Richards famously competed as a woman at the 1976 US Open after successfully challenging a United States Tennis Association (USTA) policy that required genetic screening for female players participating at the Major.

Martina Navratilova bluntly replied by stating:

"I campaigned for her, Renee won her right to play and she herself now says she should not have to been allowed to play. Anything else you would like to know?"

In December last year, Navratilova remembered Richards in her reaction to an opinion voiced by a transgender politician.

"Renee Richards was a one off" - Martina Navratilova's response to transgender politician over 'existence' of trans individuals

Martina Navratilova (Source: Getty)

Leigh Finke, a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, suggested in December last year that the sociopolitical discourse surrounding trans individuals accessing women's spaces was a non-issue. Finke then opined that such individuals have been part of American culture for a long time.

"We have existed in the culture, whether or not other people have noticed. Now that our visibility is here, there is a pushback, and that pushback is getting extreme. You mentioned Nancy Mace and her... you know it was a historic moment for us, to have a first Congressperson elected in Sarah McBride," Finke told PBS News Hour.

Martina Navratilova agreed with the second part of Finke's take, but insisted that previously, transgender individuals weren't pushing to get into women's spaces and sports. The Czech-American cited Richards as an exception to the previous norm.

"He is right about one thing- trans have always existed. They just didn’t insist on going into women’s spaces and sports. Renee Richards was a one off," Navratilova wrote on X.

Richards retired from playing tennis in 1981, having reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 in singles.