A community of tennis players in Las Vegas has launched a trans-inclusive league in the wake of the U.S. Tennis Association banning trans women from participating in women’s events.

Last December, the national governing body for tennis in the U.S. quietly instituted the ban in response to a directive from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee, which itself came in response to the Trump administration’s anti-trans executive order rescinding federal funding for programs that allow trans women and girls to participate in women’s and girls’ sports. The U.S. Tennis policy applies not only to professional and collegiate programs, but to affiliated recreational leagues as well.

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Around the time the policy went into effect, Valerie Witherspoon says, a group of Las Vegas players started making plans to mitigate its impact on their trans friends.

“It started with a text of five people saying, ‘Oh, we’re going to play every week. We’re going to figure out a way to play. We’re not losing you,’” Witherspoon told local Fox affiliate KVVU.

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According to Christine Delisle, some players do not want to be associated with the anti-trans policy. “Some people have gone as far as to quit the league and say, we’re not being a part of this anymore,” she told the station.

That left trans players and allies “with an empty space not to be able to come out on a Saturday and Sunday and be with their friends,” Delisle said.

So, Witherspoon and Delisle launched Tennis with Friends, a recreational league that welcomes trans women. But with only five transgender players, Witherspoon said the group did not have high membership expectations.

“We really thought our turnout was going to be maybe 20 people who wanted to just get together and play,” she said.

According to KVVU, Tennis with Friends now boasts more than 100 players.

Witherspoon and Delisle say the league’s focus is on fun and community.

“You’re going to have lots of people who say, ‘Well, yes, there shouldn’t be people playing in women’s sports who aren’t women.’ And then you have people who are saying, ‘Let them play because it’s recreational tennis.’ None of us is competing for scholarships or prize money,” Delisle said.

“The main word that keeps coming up is community,” said Witherspoon. “These women just want to hang out with their friends.”

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