In a BBC interview with Amol Rajan, the tennis legend holds her ground on sex-based sports protections — and refuses to fall for the emotional traps.

PublishedJune 19, 2025 6:58 PM EDT•UpdatedJune 19, 2025 6:58 PM EDT

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I've been critical of Martina Navratilova in the past — not for her stance on male athletes in women's sports (she's solid there), but for constantly dunking on Donald Trump and the very Republicans who are fighting the same battle she is. 

READ: It's Time For Martina Navratilova To Put Her Vote Where Her Mouth Is | Amber Harding

That said, when someone nails it, he or she deserves credit. And Martina absolutely nailed it this week in an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan, who tried — and failed — to trip her up on her fight to protect girls' and women's sports.

"There's a certain step ladder that you have to go through before you get to elite sports," the tennis legend began. "So it starts really in high school. And then you come out to go into your local meet, and there's a boy that now has a ponytail and nail polish and identifies as a girl. 

"That's all fine and well, but the ponytail and nail polish does not a female make. And now these girls are like, 'I can't compete against that. I have no chance.'"

Martina Navratilova has been a tireless advocate for sex-based protections in sports.

(Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for the International Tennis Hall of Fame)

Currently, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) permits men to participate in women's events if they have declared their gender as female for a minimum of four years, have lowered testosterone levels and agree to testing procedures.

But hormone suppression and simply declaring yourself a woman won't undo male physical advantages. Martina called that out, too.

"You don't lose the 5 inches of built-in height. Average male is 5 inches taller than a female," she said. "Then you add arm length, you got like 7 inches… So I have to jump this much higher for an overhead as the guy who identifies as a woman to be on the same level."

Martina Navratilova has a staggering 59 Grand Slam titles.

(Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Because Martina was making way too much sense, Rajan then went straight to the emotional manipulation playbook. The interviewer pushed back with the predictable plea for compassion: What about the trans athletes who have suffered? Aren't you worried that your words will cause more public persecution?

"Very sympathetic," Martina said. "But that still doesn't give them the right into women's sex-based spaces. What about the women? What about the girls? Every athlete affects every girl on that pitch, on that playing field."

She added: "By including male bodies in the women's tournament, now somebody is not getting into the tournament — a woman is not getting in because now a male has taken her place."

The 59-time Major Champion also went on to cite studies that indicate males still hold a biological advantage over women in sports, even after years of hormone therapy.

Martina Navratilova Shuts Down The Trans Athlete Victim Narrative

What Martina did here was a masterclass in how to push back on gender ideology without taking the bait. 

Rajan laid the trap. He tried to steer the conversation away from fairness and biology — and into feelings. That’s the playbook. Paint trans-identifying males as a persecuted minority. Pull on heartstrings. Guilt-trip your opponent into silence. All while completely ignoring the feelings and rights of the girls and women being pushed aside.

Navratilova even addressed the ultimate false narrative: the idea that transgender individuals are being "banned" from sports.

"There is no ban on trans women in sports," she said. "They just need to compete in the proper category, which is the male category. It's that simple."

It really is.

Now, to be fair (and consistent), I should mention that Martina also took a jab at Trump in this same interview — calling the U.S. under his leadership a "totalitarian" state. So yeah, same ol' Martina there.

But when it comes to defending the integrity of women's sports? She's on point. She's direct. And in this interview, she was damn near flawless.

Bravo, Martina.