Transgender pool champion Harriet Haynes has revealed the emotional torment she's been through after her opponent in the Women's Champion of Champions tournament walked out in protest against male-born female players being allowed to play against women.
Lynne Pinches was set to face off against Haynes in the tournament final in Wales back in November.
The Norwich-based pool player shook hands with Haynes before putting her cue away and conceding the final without playing a single shot.
Pinches admitted afterwards that she was up until the early hours of the morning of the final "crying" before deciding to concede the final out of "fairness" in protest against transgender athletes competing in women's sport.
Harriet Haynes has spoken of the abuse she's received
Her protest came after the World Eightball Pool Federation and Ultimate Pool Group reversed plans to ban transgender athletes from competing in the women's series.
Pinches is part of a 30-strong group of women now launching a legal challenge against pool's governing bodies to challenge the new guidance.
For Haynes, the whole ordeal has been tough to handle online as she opened up on the abuse she received after Pinches' protest.
"I hope no-one has to go through what I've gone through. It was unreal," Haynes told BBC Wales.
"It's been a cess-pool of awfulness (on social media) - the abuse, the comments I've received. Horrific. So much of it. A lot of vile abuse.
"It made frontline headlines in America. Fox News got hold of it. I was frontpage news there - one of the New York papers.
"A lot of American people went onto that and started giving me abuse as well. It's been very hurtful.
"I was having three hours sleep just so I could check my phone and delete all my messages. It got too much, I closed down one of the accounts to make it private.
"I'm very fortunate I have amazing people around me - my fiance, my best friend, her husband, my family."
But they (abusers) are not going to win - I'm too stubborn for that. I adore pool.
FAMALE #POOL PLAYER refuses to play fonal against #transgender! #LynnPinches #HarryHaynes #TransPride #SportsNews pic.twitter.com/TMdhabO5U7
— WarMonitoreu (@WarMonitoreu) November 13, 2023
"I try coaching in my local area so it's not just about me, it's about the furtherment of the game in general - women's game, men's game, the whole totality of it."
Alexandra Cunha is one of the most high-profile female pool players to speak out against male-born transgender athletes competing in the women's game.
She's ranked fifth in the world and refuses to play against transgender athletes.
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“Pool is everything to me,” she said last year.
“I fell in love with it at the age of 17 in Lisbon and have spent decades fighting against men to be allowed to play against other women on an even playing field. Now I feel like I have to go into battle again.
“But this isn’t about me, it’s not even about pool. It’s about the way women’s sport is under siege from transgender players who were born male and have all the advantages that enable them to dominate biological women.”
