Tennis legend volley reacts with confusion after Imane Khelif wins vote for prestigious women’s award

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova needed just an abbreviation to respond to Olympic boxing gold medalist Imane Khelif’s vote for the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award.

Khalif was caught in a storm throughout the Olympics after learning that Algerian athletes had failed a gender test on the eve of the Paris Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) insisted that Khalif met all requirements to participate and ultimately won the gold medal.

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Khalif came third in the voting, receiving four votes. Caitlin Clark won the award, with Simone Biles finishing second.

Navratilova, who has been a staunch advocate for protecting women’s sports, responded in a post on X.

“WTF???” she wrote, which means “What the hell…”.

Khalif qualified for the Paris Olympics, but was disqualified from the 2023 world championships ahead of the gold medal match due to gender eligibility issues, which raised questions about Khalif’s gender.

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AIBA president Omar Kremlev said the boxer has an “XY chromosome”, which is linked to being biologically male.

Algeria’s Imane Khelif looks at Italy’s Angela Carini after a boxing match at the Summer Olympics in Paris on August 1, 2024. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

One boxer, Angela Carini, gave up her fight with Khalif in Paris, saying “one punch hurt too much”.

Khalif won gold in Paris and is not the only boxer to win women’s gold only to be disqualified for failing a gender qualification test. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting also sparked similar outrage when she won gold in another women’s heavyweight competition in Paris.

The International Olympic Committee defended Khalif and Yu Ting’s participation in the women’s program.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova presents the trophy at the Roland Garros French Open on June 8, 2024 in Paris. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Khalif was the most searched athlete on Google that year, largely because of the controversy.

Fox News’ Ryan Mollick contributed to this report.

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