Pool player Harriet Haynes competes in women tournaments
The winner was a biological guy when Ultimate Pool selected a women’s champion for the Pro Series event on Sunday. This is due to the fact that Lucy Smith and Harriet Haynes, the two finalists, are both guys who “identify” as women.
Harriet Haynes headed to defend her title in 2025 after finishing the 2024 season as the top-ranked women’s player in the Ultimate Pool Pro Series. Along with finishing first in 2022, Haynes also placed second in 2023. Lucy Smith came in fifth place in 2023 and sixth in 2024.
Who is transgender pool player Harriet Haynes who won Ultimate Pool Women’s Pro Series, bio, age, real biological gender and Instagram
According to the Ultimate Pool website, the prize for first place is 1,800 pounds (about $2,320), while the prize for second place is 900 pounds (around $1,160). 2,700 pounds are awarded to the remaining top finishers (a total of 16 places are paid). Ultimate Pool Pro Series players Harriet Haynes and Lucy Smith will so get the same amount of money as the 14 ladies they defeated.
In the UK, two transgender athletes overcame their female counterparts in a women’s pool tournament title.
At the Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, Harriet Haynes and Lucy Smith faced off in the Ultimate Pool Women’s Pro Series Event 2.
Each contestant advanced to the championship match by defeating four female opponents.
Although Haynes’ matches were all quite tight, Smith dominated the bracket’s opening round. Smith defeated Vicki Lomax 7-1 after defeating Jane Mitchell 7 frames to 3 in the opening round.
At one point in the championship match, Haynes had a 6-3 lead, but Smith rallied to trim the gap to one. However, Haynes managed to hold onto the win.
Haynes emerged victorious in the final with a score of 8-6.
Before making it to the final, Smith had won 62% of 848 frames and 85 of 113 games since 2021, according to Ultimate Pool Group. Before facing Smith, Haynes had won 61% of the frames and had a.750 winning percentage in 241 lifetime matches.
Haynes’ path to the title included wins over Megan Proctor and Mary Talbot while Smith reached the final by defeating Jane Mitchell 7-3 in the first round and Vicki Lomax 7-1, before later knocking out Kirsty-Lee Davies and Danielle Randle.
Haynes already has multiple women’s championship titles under his belt. In 2023, he prevailed in the Women’s Champion of Champions final in Prestatyn, Wales, not because he outperformed the other players, but because his opponent refused to compete against him after Lynne Pinches, an actual woman, forfeited her shot at the national title.
Harriet who is a biological male but identifies as a woman is currently based in Kent, England. Haynes is a cuesports enthusiast and Ultimate Pool Group Women’s Series professional pool player. Age 34 Haynes transitioned from male to female 11 years ago at the age of 23.
Player Profile
Harriet Haynes
Region 7 – Surrey
England Ladies Team 2019–Today
Achievements
European Ladies Team Runners Up, 2024-2025
World Ladies Team Champions, 2024, 2022
World Ladies Masters Champion, 2024, 2023
European Ladies Champion, 2024
World Scotch Doubles Champion, (with Barbara Taylor) 2023
European Champion, 2023
European Team Champions, 2023, 2022, 2020
National Ladies Singles, Champion 2022
World Champion, 2022 (IPA)
National Champion of Champions, 2021, 2018
During a conversation, Haynes had lamented the English Blackball Pool Federation’s decision to prohibit men from participating in women’s competitions. Haynes sued the EBPF because he was so shocked that a group would not let men compete in women’s competitions.
“I’ve never really considered myself a trailblazer. I’m just a woman who is trying to live my life, and all I want to do is just be treated the same as any other woman,” Haynes told media.
“I work in an office environment, and I’m treated like a woman every single day in the rest of my life. This is the only aspect of my life where I’m not.”
There are no such limitations with Ultimate Pool. As a result, two guys are vying to win the title of “women’s” champion in a professional pool tournament.
According to Haynes, playing women’s pool as a man has no benefits.
“The evidence that we’ve received from our expert witnesses shows that I have no advantage. They’ve shown that pool isn’t a gender affected sport… We’re not talking about boxing or golf – we’re talking about pool,” Haynes said.
While in pool, the difference between men and women might not be as pronounced as in other, more physically demanding sports, men do still have some biological advantages. The chief issue being that anyone who has gone through male puberty will have, on average, a much wider wingspan and be much taller than someone who hasn’t as they have a longer reach, and a lot of them are taller, making it easier for men to make shots with greater power and speed.
Undoubtedly, it is merely a coincidence that two men made it to the championship match of a professional women’s competition.