A 'Trans Tennis Princess' Defeated Her Opponent. Then She Was Kicked Out of the Tennis League

It was the first match of the Brooklyn Tennis League's two-month season last Tuesday, and Cammie Woodman handily won against her opponent, 6-2, 6-love. The two players were cordial before and after the match, shaking hands before parting ways.

Woodman, a fixture in the Crown Heights tennis scene and a self-described "trans tennis princess" who has spoken publicly about the pivotal role the sport played in her medical transition, had never played in a tennis league before. "She was really excited about it," said Woodman's tennis coach, Isis Gill. 

But then the next morning, Woodman received an email from Steven Chagnon, the head of the league's national umbrella organization, asking Woodman if he could move her to an "appropriate level" men's division. Chagnon sent the request along with a forwarded email from Woodman's opponent, who wrote, "It's unfair for me, or any other woman in this league, to play against a man under the pretense that he is a woman."

Woodman explained to Chagnon that as a transgender woman who has been medically transitioning for the past four years, she would be at a disadvantage if she were to play in a men's division. "I believe in my integrity as a woman player, as I play women often and would not say that I dominate the competition by any means," Woodman wrote. "I train extremely hard and my win yesterday was based on my skill and consistency that a player at her level was respectfully unable to keep up with."

Chagnon's response was to kick Woodman out of the league.