The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) announced on Friday that transgender competitors are now banned from playing snooker worldwide, The Telegraph reported.

The decision follows a ruling from the Supreme Court of the U.K. last April that the legal definition of a woman under the country’s 2010 Equality Act is based on “biological sex.”

Related

International chess organization bans trans women from competing as women

The announcement from the billiards and snooker governing body also referred to a lawsuit brought by a trans player against another snooker association with a ban on trans competitors. Her suit was turned back by a lower court in August last year.

“Following on from the Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 and the subsequent case of Harriet Haynes and the English Blackball Federation in August 2025, the WPBSA has conducted a thorough review of its trans and gender diverse policy,” the governing sports body said.

Never Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

“The WPBSA considers snooker to be a ‘gender-affected activity’ for the purposes of Section 195 The Equality Act 2010 and that only biological female players may compete in women’s tournaments governed by the WPBSA,” the announcement continued.

The WPBSA maintained that it is “an inclusive organization” and added that “all players – irrespective of their biological sex, legal sex and/or gender identity – may compete in open tournaments.”

Snooker differs from pool in that snooker uses a larger table with smaller pockets. In snooker, players win points by alternately shooting in red and colored balls into pockets. In pool, opposing players usually win by shooting all solid-colored or striped balls into the pockets.

Notorious women’s pool player celebrates the snooker ban

Controversy around trans players competing in pool overtook the sport in 2023, when player Lynne Pinches walked away from the table rather than compete against her trans opponent Harriet Haynes at the Ladies Champions of Champions in Wales in 2023.

That stunt set off sport-wide protest among cis women over a recently adopted trans-inclusive policy by the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF). 

In a series of whipsaw decisions, WEPF confirmed in August that year that competitions would be open only to women “born female.” Two months later, they reversed themselves, adopting a trans inclusive policy that included testing testosterone levels based on International Olympic Committee standards.

That didn’t appease Pinches and her ball-racking anti-trans allies.

“Full credit and great respect to my sister Lynne Pinches yesterday for taking a stand and not playing in the biggest match of her pool-playing life because she feels it’s so unfair to have to compete against a trans woman,” Pinches’ brother posted to socials at the time.

Video of the event showed Pinches whispering her decision to the referee, and then gathering her belongings to leave; she was met with thunderous applause from supporters.

Pinches’ transgender opponent was left to win the championship by default.

On Friday, Pinches said she was “over the moon” with the governing body’s announcement.

“The @WPBSAofficial snooker have finally changed their transgender policy & given fair play to women,” Pinches posted to socials.  

She still managed to complain that the governing org hadn’t publicized the change.

“From 12th March 2026 BIOLOGICAL FEMALES ONLY will play in the women’s snooker. It has taken a year & they haven’t announced it but I’m absolutely over the moon.”  

Following her walk off, Pinches was soon the public face of efforts to ban trans women from her sport. She was one of 30 female pool players to sue the International Eightball Pool Federation and Ultimate Pool Group over their rules allowing trans women to compete in female tournaments, The Times reported.

Trans player Haynes lodged her own complaint against the English Blackball Pool Federation when that org banned trans women athletes. Her claim was dismissed in August 2025, with a judge’s assertion that banning trans women was the only “reasonable” way to ensure “fair competition.”

Anti-trans bans continue to overtake the sports world

The WPBSA announcement follows the landmark decision by the International Olympic Committee last week that trans women athletes are now banned from Olympic competition.

All female athletes competing in the games will now be required to undergo “sex testing” to determine their eligibility.

“Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening,” an announcement from the IOC read.

Like the billiards and snooker governing body’s decision, it was a stunning turnabout after the IOC first allowed trans athletes to compete in 2004.

Only one transgender athlete competed in the games during the period they were included in competition. New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard failed to place after three incomplete lifts at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.