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Renée Richards and transgender people

RenĂ©e Richards is an American ophthalmologist and former professional tennis player. Richards’ time as a transgender athlete was a flashpoint in the backlash against transgender rights in the late 1970s.

Background

Renée Richards was born on August 19, 1934 in New York City to surgeon David Raskind psychiatrist and psychiatrist Sadie Muriel Bishop. Richards grew up in Forest Hills, Queens with sibling Josephine Baron Raskind VonHippel.

Richards attended Horace Mann School and was active in sports. Richards earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1955 and a medical degree from University of Rochester Medical Center in 1959. Following an internship at Lenox Hill Hospital and a residency at  Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, Richards joined the United States Navy.

Richards began a non-public medical transition in the mid-1960s. Richards intended to have bottom surgery with Georges Burou, but decided against it.

Richards married model Barbara Mole in 1970, and together they had a child Nicholas (born 1972). They were divorced in 1975.

In 1975, Richards had bottom surgery with Roberto C. Granato Sr. Richards was outed in local media in 1976.

Tennis career

Richards played tennis from an early age, and continued playing through medical school and military service.

Richards moved to California and played in regional competitions under the name Renée Clark until being outed.

In 1976, Richards applied to compete in the US Open but refused to take a chromosome test required by the Women’s Tennis Association and other governing bodies. Richards then sued the United States Tennis Association (USTA), which runs the US Open. In 1977, Judge Alfred M. Ascione found in Richards’ favor, allowing Richards to play in the US Open. Richards lost to Virginia Wade in the first round of the singles competition. Richards and doubles partner Betty Ann Stuart lost the finals to Martina Navratilova and Betty Stöve.

Richards played professionally starting in 1977, winning an over-35 singles title in 1977. Richard stated, “I reached a career-high ranking of 19 in 1979, when I was 45.” Richards later coached Martina Navratilova to two Wimbledon wins. Richards retired at age 47 in 1981.

Richards has since expressed opposition to trans women in sex-segregated competitive sport. In a 2012 interview with Emily Bazelon, Richards said, “I know if I’d had surgery at the age of 22, and then at 24 went on the tour, no genetic woman in the world would have been able to come close to me. And so I’ve reconsidered my opinion.”

After retirement from tennis

Richards resumed a career in ophthalmology and wrote three autobiographies. The first, Second Serve, was made into a 1986 film of the same name, starring Vanessa Redgrave as Richards.

After retiring from medicine, Richards moved to upstate New York and lives with partner Arleen Larzelere.

In 2024, Richards released a position paper on trans athletes, reprinted the following year by Sports Illustrated.

1.  I believe that having gone through male puberty disqualifies transgender women from the female category in sports.

2. I believe that a retained physical advantage persists in such individuals and does not allow for an equal playing field despite reducing testosterone levels in the blood. This advantage persists, it can be mitigated by age to a yet unknown degree. The opinion of Judge Ascione, my personal gynecologist in 1976, Billie Jean King, and myself was based on knowledge of this subject almost 50 years ago. We did not have the science back then. Medical science has progressed since that time and reflects my current knowledge and opinion. I am in agreement with the comment made by Mianne Bagger, a transgender golfer from Denmark—she said what I also believe: ‘Gender identity is subjective, it cannot proscribe a stable basis for sports clarification, it is irrelevant to sports classification—which is based on physiologic characteristics.’

3. The problem of what to do with prospective transgender athletes at scholastic, club, and professional levels, in many sports, is currently ongoing. It is possible that with the use of puberty-blocking hormones, there may be a time when prospective transgender women and girls may not go through male puberty, their inclusion in sports as women will have to be reevaluated if, and when, that happens.

References

Wertheim, Jon (February 13, 2025). Renée Richards Shares Her Position on Gender Policy in Tennis. Sports Illustrated https://www.si.com/tennis/renee-richards-shares-the-gender-policy-recommendation-she-made-to-the-wta

White, Jacqueline (November 2015). Trans pioneer and eye surgeon. RĂ©nee Richards ’55 made national headlines for becoming a woman—forty years before Caitlyn Jenner. Yale Alumni Magazine https://yalealumnimagazine.org/articles/4188-renee-richards

Bazelon, Emily (October 25, 2012). Cross-Court Winner. Slate http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2012/10/jewish_jocks_and_ren_e_richards_the_life_of_the_transsexual_tennis_legend.html

Books

Richards, Renée; Dyson, Ray [editor] (2021). 1999: An Eye-Opening Medical Memoir. Hallard Press LLC, ISBN 978-1951188320

Richards, Renée; Ames, John [contributor] (2007). No Way Renée: The Second Half of My Notorious Life. Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-0743290135

Richards, Renée; Ames, John [contributor] (1983). Second Serve. Stein & Day. ISBN 978-0812828979

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Britannica (britannica.com)

Jews in Sports (jewsinsports.org)

  • Richards, RenĂ©e
  • jewsinsports.org/tennis_ID_38.html

Transgender History Month (transgenderhistorymonth.com)