The most resonant case in the history of the American tournament.
Whatever records the superstars from the world of tennis set, they still will never repeat the achievement of Richard Raskind. The American played in the US men’s championship, and twenty-four years later changed sex and entered the women’s tournament. The organizers did not want to allow a transgender athlete, but he sued and unexpectedly won.
Completed the list of successful American
Raskind picked up his love for tennis from his father, who played the sport as an amateur at a local club, at an early age. Richard, on the other hand, dreamed of a professional career and, in order to achieve his goal, began to train with a leading coach in New York from the age of 12. The specialist immediately saw the talent in the American and helped him achieve his first success: already at the age of 15, Richard won the championship of private schools in the eastern states.
Many athletes experience difficulties in the transition to the senior level and start to perform worse, but not Raskind. After school, the tennis player entered Yale University, where he became the first racket and captain of the national team. A little later, he was able to break into the main draw of the US National Championship. Despite some success, the American did not spend all his free time on the court. Raskind also played baseball, swinging his bat as well as his racket. He was even invited to view the New York Yankees. But Raskind, instead of professional sports, unexpectedly chose studies and a career in healthcare.
However, work in a white coat did not prevent him from finding free time to play tennis. The man even played at the US Open five times between 1953 and 1960. He then enlisted in the Navy and won singles and doubles at the Naval Championships.
The North American portal Sports Illustrated notes that by this time Raskind had fully completed the list of a successful American: he became a reputable surgeon in Manhattan, married a model, became a father, and even received a pilot’s license. He also showed excellent results in amateur sports: in 1974, the tennis player ranked third in the East and 13th in the national division among men over 35 years old.
Psychological problems and gender reassignment
However, Raskind was successful and happy only outwardly. All his life he was tormented by severe psychological problems. The American felt like a woman and could not fight it. Even working with psychiatrists did not help get rid of obsessive thoughts about changing sex. The situation became so critical that Raskind left himself only two options: to commit suicide or change sex. As a result, he chose the second and in 1975 went to the operation.
After that, Raskind changed his name to Renee Richards, abandoned his family and moved to Newport Beach, where he resumed his medical practice. Cardinal changes in life did not affect only the love of tennis. Raskind continued her amateur career, but competed against women instead of men. So, he competed in Southern California under the name Rene Clark. Nobody heard about the 41-year-old tennis player, so the fans were very surprised when an unknown athlete won the 1976 tournament in La Jolla.
Scandalous decision
The theme of the mysterious athlete quickly faded into the background when a newspaper came out a little later with the headline: “The winner among women was a man.” The story was picked up on local television news, calling Richards a man posing as a woman. Then the participants of one of the New Jersey tournaments did not want to compete with the “crazy man” and boycotted the competition: 25 out of 32 athletes withdrew. And Rene, who is 187 cm tall, claimed that she had no advantages over other girls.
In addition, the newly minted miss had a desire to participate in the US Open, but she was not allowed to the tournament in 1976.
Dr. Richards was planning to compete in the United States Open starting tomorrow. But it was thwarted by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), which pioneered the introduction of a chromosome test as a prerequisite for women’s participation. Dr. Richards refused to take the test and is considering legal action against the USTA, wrote The New York Times in 1976.
A year later, the New York Supreme Court ruled in favor of Richards two weeks before the 1977 US Open. Tournament participants and fans were unhappy. However, it did not take long: Rene flew out in the first round. Despite all the anger of the public, the trans woman’s career continued and in 1979 she even became the 20th racket of the WTA rating.
The famous American tennis player Chris Evert met with an unusual opponent six times and won all the matches. But despite the victories, Evert constantly criticized Richards.
– Arm span. Heart size. Lung size. Speed. Fast twitch muscles. Testosterone. Everything just points to the fact that men are faster and stronger than women – especially after puberty. I would like Renee Richards to come out and say: “I think it would be wrong of me to compete” … But she said: “If I was 25, I would erase everyone from the court,” Evert said in an interview New York Post.
Now Richards is saying exactly what Evert wanted to hear. Renee wants stories like this to never happen again and admits she made a mistake.
