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The candid, definitive biography of professional tennis''s first openly transgender player, Renee Richards, featuring never-before-seen archival photos and untold stories nearly lost to history, until now. Fifty years ago, tennis player Renee Richards made international headlines in her fight to compete in the women''s draw of the 1976 US Open--marking the first time a trans athlete sued to participate in professional sports in the gender category with which they identify. Renee eventually won her case. Though she lost in the first round of the singles tournament in 1977, she and her tennis partner made it to the finals in doubles, losing to Martina Navratilova and her partner. Finding Renee Richards chronicles Richards''s extraordinary life, moving from her tumultuous upbringing in Queens, New York, to her career as a successful eye surgeon; her years as a star tennis player to her role as a transgender pioneer. Now in her nineties, Renee remains a complex figure: A person who changed the sports world forever yet questions the place of trans athletes in that world today. GLAAD award-nominated sports journalist Julie Kliegman deftly probes these contradictions, drawing on intimate interviews and offering critical reflections on what is at stake for athletes, fans, and the queer community today, at a time when trans participation in sports is more hotly contested--and condemned--than ever before. Finding Renee Richards includes a 20-page photo insert featuring never-before-seen archival images.
About the author
Julie Kliegman is a writer and editor with work in outlets including The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, Slate, Bookforum, The Ringer, Defector, Texas Monthly, Vulture, and The Verge. They are a regular guest on podcasts including You’re Wrong About and Hang Up and Listen. Kliegman has been copy chief at Sports Illustrated and copy editor at The Ringer. They have also taught journalism to undergraduates at the New School. Their first book was Mind Game: An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes. Kliegman lives in Queens, New York.
Summary
The candid, definitive biography of professional tennis’s first openly transgender player, Renée Richards, featuring never-before-seen archival photos and untold stories nearly lost to history, until now.
Fifty years ago, tennis player Renée Richards made international headlines in her fight to compete in the women’s draw of the 1976 US Open—marking the first time a trans athlete sued to participate in professional sports in the gender category with which they identify. Renée eventually won her case. Though she lost in the first round of the singles tournament in 1977, she and her tennis partner made it to the finals in doubles, losing to Martina Navratilova and her partner.
Finding Renée Richards chronicles Richards’s extraordinary life, moving from her tumultuous upbringing in Queens, New York, to her career as a successful eye surgeon; her years as a star tennis player to her role as a transgender pioneer. Now in her nineties, Renée remains a complex figure: A person who changed the sports world forever yet questions the place of trans athletes in that world today. GLAAD award-nominated sports journalist Julie Kliegman deftly probes these contradictions, drawing on intimate interviews and offering critical reflections on what is at stake for athletes, fans, and the queer community today, at a time when trans participation in sports is more hotly contested—and condemned—than ever before.
Finding Renée Richards includes a 20-page photo insert featuring never-before-seen archival images.
