Transgender Athlete Valerie Green Finds Home with USTA

Green said the welcomeness of her longest-running captains, Causey and Sue Blake, as well as support from teammates and opponents has made her USTA experience a positive one. Green — who called herself a “middle-of-the-road 4.0 player” and “the worst doubles player on our teams” — has about a 64 percent win rate for singles in the last 12 months. Her win percentage for doubles, meanwhile, sits in the mid-30s.

“The most important message I could give to people, especially in regard to transgender athletes, is transgender people transition because of who they are. Not because of any attempt to gain a competitive advantage in sport or in life,” Green said. “It’s hard. There is nobody who would go through all the things someone has to do just to gain a competitive edge. People transition to live their lives authentically. They compete in sports because it’s a sport they love. For me, the tennis court is my holy place. It’s where I feel whole and alive.”

Green said she’s known her entire life she was different. When she was about 11 years old, Green read an article about — perhaps not so coincidentally — tennis transgender pioneer Renée Richards. Upon learning from the article male-to-female sex realignment was possible medically and surgically, Green then knew that’s what she wanted to one day do. But life circumstances meant that would not come for another four decades.

Green was married for 34 years and has been widowed since 2016. She has five children and six grandchildren. She estimated she attended 13 different schools prior to reaching high school with her family moving so frequently. Her independent personality in part grew from all the bouncing around, and the sport of tennis was a fantastic match.

Prior to joining USTA Green’s tennis experience was almost entirely recreational, a result of the multiple relocations and Green feeling uncomfortable about joining male teams. She said the enjoyment, affordability and speed at which a match can be completed are all contributing factors as to why she’s continually drawn to the sport. With the shape of her body and weight dramatically shifting over time, tennis has offered a physical outlet Green is grateful to partake in. She's loved being part of her USTA teams, too.

“I wondered how I would mesh with teams, but the teams have been wonderful,” Green said. “I would hate to lose any member of a team. I’ve developed really good friendships. We have lots of good conversations and opportunities to exchange information. … I’ve had team members come to me because I may be the first and only transgender person they’ve ever dealt with. They have questions and want to learn some things. I come across to them as a safe person to talk to.”

Green has faced detractors, too, including when a gender grievance was filed against her by an opponent at the USTA Missouri Valley Section Championships in 2019. Mary Vassar — one of Green’s former teammates and longtime USTA St. Louis executive director — relayed to Green the challenge against her gender. So Green whipped out her driver’s license, passport, most recent lab results and a copy of USTA’s Transgender Inclusion Policy.

“Within 10 minutes, they just came back and said there is no issue here,” Green said. “Even the captain who came over felt uncomfortable doing it. ‘Well, tell her it’s fine. Not everybody understands. Especially with what they hear in the media, they’re going to have questions. Tell that captain not to worry about it. It doesn’t matter. Let’s just settle the issue and move along. Please don’t feel bad about doing what your teammate asked you to do.’”