The U.S. Open hosted s very first Pri, and out tennis player Nick Lee was there to ask: where are the other gay men?
Contents:
- THERE ARE NO PUBLICLY OUT GAY PRO MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHY
- THE GAY TENNIS PLAYERS SMASHG DOWN BARRIERS AS WIMBLEDON 2023 GETS UNRWAY
- "IF THERE'S A GAY PLAYER THE LOCKER ROOM, NOTHG HAPPENS" - DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN, THE LATT STAR TO SUPPORT THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT
- TOP NAM COME IN SUPPORT OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS ON THE MEN’S TOUR
- THERE WILL BE NO OUT GAY MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AT THE U.S. OPEN, YET AGA
- FRZ SAYS OPENLY GAY PLAYER WOULD BE ACCEPTED ON ATP TOUR
- TENNIS' LAST TABOO: WHY NO OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYERS?
- ATHLETE’S GOAL IS TO REACH THE TOP AS AN OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL TENNIS PLAYER
- GAY DARTMOUTH TENNIS PLAYER WANTS MORE MEN’S PLAYERS TO E OUT TO CREASE VISIBILY
THERE ARE NO PUBLICLY OUT GAY PRO MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHY
* gay tennis male players *
As a former men’s llegiate tennis player and openly gay member of my team, this qutn nagged at me as I attend the monumental first ever Pri event at the U. As a former llegiate tennis player and gay man, this event stck a particularly sensive chord for me. After all of the homophobia I have personally experienced sports, the panelists and the packed dience gave me so much hope for the future of cln sports.
The trailblazer for gay visibily on the ATP tour scribed himself durg the panel discsn as “an anx guy and an anx tennis player, ” statg that his disfort wh his sexual orientatn throughout his life was a signifint ntributor to his anxiety.
To me, the fact that Vahaly was even able to make on tour as a closeted gay man the 2000s mak him que an anomaly. The days, top players Roger Ferer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have all publicly stated that they would wele an out gay man to the ATP. While we now celebrate Kg for her acplishments as a gay rights activist, the sacrific she had to make and terrors that she endured for wantg to be her thentic self after beg outed towards the end of her profsnal tennis reer – nearly 40 years ago – are unjtifiable.
THE GAY TENNIS PLAYERS SMASHG DOWN BARRIERS AS WIMBLEDON 2023 GETS UNRWAY
There are a handful of out gay tennis players offerg val LGBTQ+ reprentatn at Wimbledon 2023 - but the men's game still lags behd. * gay tennis male players *
Statistilly speakg, there mt be a man the top 100, 200, 500 or even 1, 000 who is gay, right?
Combe that wh gay and bisexual men reprentg a signifintly smaller portn of the populatn than heterosexual men, and the odds of havg one of makg through the ranks growg up and currently beg a profsnal tennis player are slim, no matter how welg players such as Ferer, Djokovic and Murray are 2019. There uld be someone makg their way up the rankgs junrs right now, who hopefully will not be terred om tennis for beg a gay or bisexual man, who will see events such as the U.
"IF THERE'S A GAY PLAYER THE LOCKER ROOM, NOTHG HAPPENS" - DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN, THE LATT STAR TO SUPPORT THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT
Fabien Reboul and Maxence Broville l up the ter wh their kissg photos. Are they actually gay and love? * gay tennis male players *
As Rippon highlighted, g out and beg labeled as “that gay athlete” is not easy to al wh.
TOP NAM COME IN SUPPORT OF OPENLY GAY PLAYERS ON THE MEN’S TOUR
Gay llege tennis players offer theori as to why no ele pro players are out, wh the solo nature of the sport beg a key. * gay tennis male players *
Wimbledon 2023 is officially unrway – weather permtg – but spe the All England Club’s all-whe le, there are a handful of out gay players offerg some val rabow LGBTQ+ reprentatn at tennis’s most prtig tournament. Sce the days of trailblazg gay Grand Slam champns Billie Jean Kg and Marta Navratilova, women’s tennis has long provid some of the biggt LGBTQ+ nam sport – and there are currently several players Women’s Tennis Associatn (WTA) tour rryg that torch for a new generatn. However, the men’s Associatn of Tennis Profsnals (ATP) isn’t currently jt laggg behd, ’s yet to even cross the startg le: There are currently no out gay players on the men’s tour and no profsnal male tennis player has e out publicly the Open Era while still playg the game.
Amerin former world number 57 Brian Vahaly me out publicly as gay 2017, a after retirg om the sport, and shed light on some of the barriers faced by gay male players. Amerin former world number 57 Brian Vahaly me out publicly as gay 2017, a after retirg om tennis.
“I heard homophobic ments all the time the locker room – to my face, behd my back. In 2022, men’s top 10 player and former Wimbledon quarter-falist Taylor said he believed an out gay male player would be “accepted” on the tour, but as Wimbledon rolls around for another, the wa go on. In the meantime, here’s a n-down of the out gay women’s players to look out for the Wimbledon 2023 ma draws – as well as a few others who aren’t makg an appearance at SW19 this year, but are still reprentg for the LGBTQ+ muny on the tour.
THERE WILL BE NO OUT GAY MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AT THE U.S. OPEN, YET AGA
Rsia’s Daria Kasatka says she’s unable to return home as a gay person who oppos the vasn of Ukrae.
Rsian tennis star Daria Kasatka beme the hight-profile out gay tennis star on the WTA tour when she me out publicly July 2022.
FRZ SAYS OPENLY GAY PLAYER WOULD BE ACCEPTED ON ATP TOUR
In the year sce, Kasatka has been an outspoken cric of Rsia’s vasn of Ukrae and anti-gay polil culture – even if ’s e at great personal st.
As a gay person who oppos the war, ’s not possible to go back, ” she told The Tim July 2023. I wanted to say my posn on the war and my [sexualy], which was tough, g om a untry where beg gay is not accepted, but felt like I had a backpack of ston on my shoulrs and I jt had to throw off. Schuurs me out as gay as a teenager and has stated her sire to be a role mol for young LGBTQ+ people.
“You only live once, so you have to be happy and don’t need to strs about beg gay or not. Out gay Brish player Tara Moore is a former world 145 player sgl and former top 100 player doubl.
TENNIS' LAST TABOO: WHY NO OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYERS?
Some tennis players astonished everyone by revealg their genr publicly and g out as homosexual.
The lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, and other non-cisgenr or non-heterosexual (LGBTQ+) muny is prent wh sports worldwi. Many well-known players are openly gay and lbian and have bee champns proudly, makg themselv known to the world.
Brian Vahaly, the top tennis player who me out as a homosexual (Source: Tennis World). Casey Dellacqua is one of the tennis players to e out as homosexual (Source: Ptert).
ATHLETE’S GOAL IS TO REACH THE TOP AS AN OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL TENNIS PLAYER
Gigi Fernánz is also a renowned tennis player who me out as homosexual (Source: Ptert). Mart Navratilova me out as homosexual 1981, makg her one of the few tennis players to do so (Source: Getty Imag). While there are many out women on the women’s tour, there are currently none on the ATP Tour on the men’s si, though var former pro tennis players — most notably Brian Vahaly — have e out as gay.
The other possibily that volv a big “g out” is that one of them is gay and the other is playg along or supportg him. Earlier this year two former profsnal soccer players — Iker Casillas and Carl Puyol — joked on social media about beg gay and a relatnship, drawg some lghs but mostly srn for (or so the accatns go) mockg the g-out experience of athlet.
Butone aspect of diversy that is yet to be seen the tennis world is an active player on the ATP tour g out as gay. After Billie Jean Kg and Marta Navratilova, several top female players have intified themselv as gay over the years.
GAY DARTMOUTH TENNIS PLAYER WANTS MORE MEN’S PLAYERS TO E OUT TO CREASE VISIBILY
But the lack of active male tennis players who intify themselv as gay seems to suggt otherwise. Schwartzman went on to extend the nversatn to sexual orientatn, and asserted that a fellow petor g out as gay would be a plete non-issue for him. "There are also sports which they beg to wonr if there are gay players or not, and the tth is that is not unrstood, " the Argente said.
20-time Grand Slam wner Roger Ferer, wily regard as one of the greatt players of all time, had claimed back 2013 that a player g out as gay wouldn't be a big al for him personally. "I knew they weren't really gog to unrstand" - Brian Vahaly on his journey as a gay player on the ATP tour. One player who has spoken about his first-hand experience of beg gay and petg on the ATP tour is former World No.