In the wake of a controversial UK Supreme Court ruling redefining legal womanhood as “biological sex,” the Ultimate Pool Group (UPG) has announced that transgender women will no longer be eligible to compete in its women’s category. The professional 8-ball organization cited the ruling as the basis for a sweeping change in its eligibility rules, declaring that participation in women’s events will now be restricted to “biologically born women.”
The announcement follows protests at the Ultimate Pool Women’s Pro Series Event 2 earlier this month, where transgender players Harriet Haynes and Lucy Smith competed in the final. The match, held at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, became a lightning rod for both public criticism and legal disputes surrounding transgender inclusion in cue sports.
In a statement released Tuesday, UPG said it “welcomes the clarity” provided by the Supreme Court decision and confirmed that transgender women would be ineligible to participate in the women’s series and international female events beginning April 23, 2025.
“As an organization, we are committed to being empathetic to all members of our community,” the statement reads. “We respect that some people within the pool community may find the changes challenging.”
“Caught in a vacuum”
UPG explained the policy shift as a response to what it called a long-standing “vacuum of uncertainty” around eligibility criteria for women’s competitions. It referenced a commissioned report that categorized 8-ball pool as a “gender-affected sport” and argued that transgender women retain inherent advantages in cue-based competitions, despite the lack of clear consensus in scientific literature regarding such claims.
The organization clarified that while the women’s category is now closed to transgender women, an “open category” will remain available to players of all genders.
Legal and personal fallout
The new rule reverses previous decisions. In 2023, UPG and the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) briefly barred transgender women from competing in women’s events but rescinded the decision amid backlash. This inconsistency led to high-profile protests, including a walkout by British player Lynne Pinches, who conceded a championship final to her transgender opponent in protest.
Pinches later declined a professional contract, stating she felt unable to compete fairly against transgender women. Meanwhile, Haynes, one of the players most affected by the ban, has maintained that transgender women have competed in cue sports for over 20 years without evidence of unfair advantage. Haynes is currently pursuing legal action against the English Blackball Pool Federation (EBPF), which enacted similar restrictions.
“I’ve competed with dignity and within the rules for years,” Haynes said in a previous statement. “This isn’t about fairness, it’s about exclusion.”
The Bottom Line
The decision makes UPG the first major UK-based sports body to change its rules following the Supreme Court’s decision. The ruling has prompted guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), with chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner stating that trans women are no longer eligible for women’s sport under the new legal framework and that the EHRC may take enforcement actions against organizations that fail to comply.
As governing bodies recalibrate their policies, many transgender athletes now face renewed uncertainty, not just in their professional careers, but in their sense of belonging in the sports they’ve called home.
While UPG insists its changes reflect legal compliance and fairness, for many trans women and their allies, the move feels like yet another door being shut.
