Martina Navratilova has angered the transgender community by claiming that people who were born male should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports events.

The former Wimbledon champion and LGBT campaigner made the statement on social media, and was swiftly accused of being “transphobic”.

Responding to a question from one of her followers about transgender women in sport, Navratilova said: “Clearly that can’t be right. You can’t just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women. There must be some standards, and having a penis and competing as a woman would not fit that standard.”

She also said: “For me it’s all about fairness. Which means taking every case individually… there is no cookie cutter way of doing things.”

Her comments were seized upon by Dr Rachel McKinnon, a transgender activist and competitive cyclist who this year controversially won a women’s event at the UCI Masters Track World Championship.