Renée Richards
In 1977 she won the right in court to play at the US Open as a woman – a landmark case for trans rights.
Renée Richards grew up in New York, captained the tennis team at Yale and became an eye surgeon. She served in the US Navy and was a successful amateur tennis player. In 1975, at the age of 40, she underwent gender-affirming surgery.
In 1976 she won a tournament in California, and a journalist revealed her past. The United States Tennis Association then required all women players to take a chromosome test, effectively to exclude her. Richards sued, and in 1977 the New York Supreme Court ruled in her favour: she could play as a woman. It was one of the first court rulings recognising the rights of a trans person.
She played professionally for several years, reached the women’s doubles final at the US Open in 1977 and was among the top 20 women in the world. She then coached Martina Navratilova to two Wimbledon titles before returning to her career as an eye surgeon.
In later years Richards expressed reservations about trans women competing at the top level of women’s sport, which has sparked debate. She has written two autobiographies about her life.