The WTA Tour’s gender checkers are keeping busy. For the second time in the last few weeks, a player needing clearance to compete on the women’s tour has cropped up in news reports. The latest involves Andrea Paredes, a 37-year-old transsexual from Chile. This follows the case of Sarah Gronert, a 22-year-old intersex player from Germany who is ranked No. 499.

According to a story in Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Paredes is the first transsexual to compete since Renee Richards three decades ago. Paredes told the paper she felt inspired after learning of Richards in 2003 and then started to consider a shot at the pro tour. The inspiration wasn’t much help: The Chilean was double bageled by a Scottish qualifier 6-0, 6-0 in 25 minutes at a small event in Argentina where she received a wild card.

According to the article, Paredes – who was born Ernesto and works as a financial consultant – had a sex change in 2000 and was cleared by the ITF to compete. She said she has been the victim of discrimination and traveled to the low-tier event near Buenos Aires because that country is more liberal than her native Chile. “I have suffered discrimination and comments in Chile, as they are not very advanced in Chile with their mindset,” she was quoted as saying. “They discriminate against transsexuals and gays, that sort of thing. I will probably get more comments when I get back to Chile after this tournament, and I think I'm probably going to have to fight with the tennis federation in my country. I don't think I will hear good things. But the comments won't bother me.”

Paredes’ opponent, Nicola Slater, said she felt sorry for Paredes and took some pace off the ball so she could stay in rallies for the television crews that had gathered for the match. She called Paredes’ prospects “a bit of a lost cause.” Slater also questioned how Paredes obtained a wild card considering her apparent lack of competitiveness. “In this part of the world, you sometimes hear about people buying wild cards into tournaments,” Slater said.

While both Paredes and Gronert needed medical clearance from the ITF to compete, their cases differ. Gronert was born with both male and female characteristics and has chosen to live as a woman – though much remains unclear about her medical history and specific condition. Richards, the only other player with a similar experience, said in an email that she was surprised by the efforts of authorities to accommodate sexual minorities after she was initially barred from playing and had to sue to win the right to compete in the 1970s and early 1980s.

“Times have certainly changed!!” wrote Richards, who then reached the last eight at the U.S. Open. “When I was given the OK to play on the tour, Philippe Chatrier, the president of the International Tennis Federation, personally went to great lengths to be sure that I was not allowed to play in Europe. No Wimbledon and no French Open (too bad for me -- my two best surfaces-grass and clay!). He even called tournament directors to warn them they would not receive ITF backing if they let me play. Now I see that the ITF is the one that allowed this Chilean player permission! What a world.”

Richards, a top male amateur (born Richard Raskind) before he joined the WTA in her 40s, wondered why Paredes had been given a wild card “since she is evidently not a very good player.” 

“I always contended that I had some kind of a right to play because I had been a player,” the 74-year-old ophthalmologist wrote. “ Don Budge said, ‘They have to let her play now, she can’t play with the men.' And the age, as I said, is crucial. This 37 year old is a far cry from the 22-year-old German, who may pose a problem….I remember my mixed doubles partner Ilie Nastase commenting about my age at the height of the controversy. ‘What are they afraid of, she's old enough to be their mother!'”

Richards also tested the waters in South America, suggesting that pockets of the continent were open or at least more willing to turn a blind eye for monetary gain to accommodate her controversial foray into women’s tennis. Richards explained how she enjoyed some success there and was a big draw for both tour matches and several exhibitions. She cited a tournament win in Santiago, Chile, where she downed Laura DuPont in the final and beat top-10 player Ivanna Madruga to win another event in Buenos Aires, where she was dubbed “La Campeone de la Ria de la Plata.” She also first met and played Martina Navratilova at a tournament in Sao Paolo, losing in two tiebreaks. Richards had not heard or read of Paredes, prompting her to write: “I must be getting old. Used to be something like this happens anywhere I the world, my phone starts ringing off the hook.”

Insider not Guaranteed to Replace Scott at WTA

Although many news reports have suggested that WTA Tour president Stacey Allaster is the bullet-proof frontrunner to take over CEO Larry Scott’s job (with WTA COO David Shoemaker second in line), that is not necessarily the case. Meeting by teleconference last week, the board decided to look for outside as well as inside candidates. Though the scope and timing of the search have not been nailed down, it’s likely the tour will engage some kind of external search firm as it combs for candidates around the globe, according to a tour official.