French transgender basketball player Julie Tetart, who dominated France’s Ligue Féminine 2 for the Monaco Basket Association by averaging 21.2 points and 20.2 rebounds per game during the 2025-26 season, has drawn direct physical comparisons to Brittney Griner from her own teammates.
Assessing the Physical Reality on the Court
The debate surrounding competitive fairness in women’s basketball has intensified following recent comments from Monaco Basket Association players regarding 34-year-old forward Julie Tetart. During an appearance on the French podcast “Club Five,” teammates Martina Bestagno and Sara Crudo opened up about the unique challenges of contesting Tetart during weekly training sessions and league fixtures.
Bestagno, a 6-foot-3 center, compared her prior experiences guarding towering interior presences like Brittney Griner, who stands at 6-foot-9 and 219 pounds, and Isabelle Yacoubou, listed between 6-foot-3 and 220-229 pounds, to facing Tetart. While acknowledging that Griner and Yacoubou are physically taller, Bestagno emphasized that raw size does not tell the whole story on the tactical whiteboard.
“It’s not just the size, it’s the combination of size and strength,” Bestagno stated on the podcast, describing how she was “blown away by the difference talking about strength” when matching up against Tetart in practice. Teammate Sara Crudo, a 6-foot-1 forward, reinforced that sentiment with a striking visual analogy, noting that defending Tetart feels “like a train that is coming into you.”
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Weighing WNBA Prospects and Regulatory Realities
Despite the high-intensity battles on the practice floor in Monaco, both teammates expressed nuanced views regarding the broader landscape of women’s sports and the viability of a transatlantic move. When questioned by podcast hosts about whether Tetart would dominate in the WNBA, both Crudo and Bestagno dismissed the notion.
“Physically, she is probably the strongest that I ever faced. With that being said, basketball is not athletics. It’s not because you’re the strongest automatically you are the best player,” Bestagno explained, pushing back against the assumption that every transgender athlete would automatically dominate high-tier professional leagues.
Crudo addressed the competitive fairness debate directly, responding affirmatively when asked if allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s categories is unfair. At the same time, both players expressed support for the transgender community, with Bestagno noting that individuals navigating these transitions do not deserve online hostility and are technically operating within current regulatory allowances.
For her part, Tetart addressed speculation surrounding a potential move to the United States. Though she previously acknowledged that playing in the WNBA would represent a childhood dream, she tempered expectations regarding a professional transition across the Atlantic.
“If they contact me, I won’t say no,” Tetart remarked. “I’m old, and there are far better players than me!”
Statistical Breakdown of Ligue Féminine 2 Frontcourt Leaders
| Player | Position / Height | Team | 2025-26 PPG | 2025-26 RPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julie Tetart | Forward / 6-3 | Monaco Basket Association | 21.2 | 20.2 |
| Martina Bestagno | Center / 6-3 | Monaco Basket Association | — | — |
| Sara Crudo | Forward / 6-1 | Monaco Basket Association | — | — |
The Broader Context of Global Women’s Basketball
The conversation around roster construction, physicality, and league rules arrives as international basketball continues to grapple with varying regulatory frameworks. While domestic leagues across Europe implement specific testosterone thresholds and federation guidelines, global bodies face mounting pressure to standardize eligibility rules.
Meanwhile, high-profile American stars like Brittney Griner—who returned to the Phoenix Mercury following her highly publicized 2022 detention in Russia, where she averaged 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds over 31 games—continue to define the physical benchmark for elite post play in the sport.
As the 2025-26 European basketball calendar progresses, the intersection of locker-room dynamics, competitive equity, and athletic governance remains one of the most closely monitored storylines in the global game.
