Donald Trump 'Honours' UGA Women's Tennis Champions With Bizarre Photo Featuring Only Men In The Foreground

A White House photo meant to celebrate the University of Georgia's national champion women's tennis team went viral on 22 April 2026, but for all the wrong reasons.

The image, posted to X by White House aide Margo Martin, showed the Bulldogs' 11-strong squad largely obscured by a wall of men standing in the foreground, Donald Trump among them. C

ritics responded within minutes, public figures piled on overnight, and the White House issued a rebuttal before the day was done. The photograph has since sparked a wider conversation about the Trump administration's record on women in sport.

How a Celebratory Photo Became a National Controversy

The University of Georgia women's tennis team arrived at the White House on Tuesday, 22 April 2026, as part of a group ceremony honoring several NCAA national champions. The Bulldogs had earned their place there by defeating Texas A&M 4-0 in the 2025 final, claiming the programme's third national title and its first since 2000. Eleven players made the trip to Washington D.C., swapping their rackets and match kits for blazers.

Trump greeted the assembled group with 'Go Dawgs' as he entered the room, then briefly chatted with the players before the group assembled for a formal photograph. A video shared by White House aide Margo Martin on X showed Trump approaching the front of the group and shaking hands with the five men positioned there, without greeting the athletes standing behind them.

Martin then posted the official photo to X with the caption: 'Congratulations, Georgia Women's Tennis!' In the image, Trump stands at the centre, flanked on a raised platform by two of the winning players. The remaining nine are largely invisible, pushed to the back two rows behind a cluster of men who dominate the foreground.

The team posted on their official X account: 'An honor to represent the University of Georgia at the White House today!' Head coach Drake Bernstein, who appeared directly beside Trump in the photograph, told the Athens Banner-Herald that the squad was 'thrilled' to be there. 'This is a terrific experience and memory for these young ladies to be able to share for the rest of their lives,' Bernstein said in a text message, as reported by USA Today.

Public Backlash, Sharp Voices, and a White House Rebuttal

The photo drew immediate and widespread criticism on social media. Martina Navratilova, the Czech-American tennis legend and 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, responded on X with pointed brevity: 'A photo is worth a thousand words...'

Lawyer Dr. Ann Olivarius followed with her own observation: 'If you squint, you can juuuuuust about see the women.'

Other users were more direct. 'I can barely see the women...,' wrote one commenter.

Another asked: 'Looks like Trump is celebrating a bunch of men at a women's sporting event. Why does Trump keep inserting men into women's sports?' The phrase 'Georgia Women's Tennis, with a bunch of dudes standing in front of them' circulated rapidly and became an unofficial summary of the grievance. Some users described the image as 'misogynistic' and 'embarrassing.'

The White House responded quickly. A spokesperson told HuffPost in an email that 'failing reporters suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome' had invented a 'ridiculous narrative to sow division while Americans are celebrating one another's great achievements.' The spokesperson added: 'It's pretty clear to anyone with an ounce of commonsense that the women's team is accompanied by their fantastic coaches.'

A Pattern Stretching Back to Trump's First Term

The photograph does not stand alone. Before 2019, not a single women's championship team received a solo White House visit under Trump, breaking with a tradition observed across both Republican and Democratic administrations. The Minnesota Lynx, WNBA champions in 2017, were not invited.

The Seattle Storm, who won the title in 2018, were also left off the guest list. The Notre Dame women's basketball team, NCAA champions in 2018, received no invitation either. Women's teams during that period were typically folded into large multi-sport ceremonies rather than recognised as standalone champions.

It was not until April 2019 that the Baylor Lady Bears became the first women's championship team to make a solo White House visit under Trump, nearly two full years into his first term. That milestone was widely noted as an overdue correction, but critics argued it did not erase the broader record.

More recently, the US women's national hockey team declined Trump's invitation to attend the State of the Union in February 2026, following a recorded phone call in which Trump publicly complained about being obligated to invite them. Speaking to the gold-medal winning men's team, Trump said: 'I must tell you, we're going to have to bring the women's team, you do know that?' The remark drew laughter from the men present, with Trump adding: 'I do believe I probably would be impeached' if he failed to extend the invitation. The women's team declined.

For the critics who circulated the UGA photo across social media, that context made the image mean something beyond a poorly framed group shot.

A photograph released to celebrate champions has instead reignited a debate that this administration has never quite managed to put to rest.