Finding Renée Richards: The Groundbreaking Story of Tennis’s Trans Pioneer

by Julie Kliegman

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 1977 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, 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 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.

Genres: Sports

Kindle Edition

Expected publication August 18, 2026

About the author

Julie Kliegman is a writer and editor. Previously, she was the copy chief for Sports Illustrated and a copy editor at The Ringer. Her writing on a wide variety of topics has appeared in outlets including Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, The Ringer, Bookforum, Vulture, BuzzFeed, Vox, The Verge, Bustle, Washington Monthly, The Week, and more. She lives in Queens, New York.

Reviews

[Nev · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a compelling read! I had heard of Renée Richards before and how she was a trans woman in the 1970s who sued for, and won, the right to compete in the women's division of the tennis US Open. However, I didn't know much of her story before or after that point. So this was an eye-opening read to see how in the present she doesn't think that other trans women should have the same right to compete in sports that she won back in the day.

I really appreciated the way that this book was written with the author Julie Kliegman providing their thoughts on Renée's statements and pushing back on different points. The book isn't unquestioningly providing Renée's point of view. You get to see moments and transcripts that depict Julie and Renée's generational differences or disagreements, which was very interesting.

I loved getting to learn about Renée's life before her transition, her career as a doctor, and her time as Martina Navratilova's coach. But of course it's also frustrating and upsetting to read Martina's present attitude and opinions when it comes to trans athletes.

I'd definitely recommend this book to people who are interested in the history of trans rights and a nuanced biography of a complicated figure. I flew through the book in just two days because I found it to be such a fascinating read.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.