"If there's a gay player the locker room, nothg happens" - Diego Schwartzman, the latt star to support the LGBTQ movement

Contents:

• THERE ARE NO PUBLICLY OUT GAY PRO MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHY
• THERE WILL BE NO OUT GAY MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AT THE U.S. OPEN, YET AGA
• THE GAY TENNIS PLAYERS SMASHG DOWN BARRIERS AS WIMBLEDON 2023 GETS UNRWAY
• 5 ACTIVE TENNIS PLAYERS WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY OR BISEXUAL, FT. DARIA KASATKA & SAMANTHA STOSUR
• "IF THERE'S A GAY PLAYER THE LOCKER ROOM, NOTHG HAPPENS" - DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN, THE LATT STAR TO SUPPORT THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT
• FRZ SAYS OPENLY GAY PLAYER WOULD BE ACCEPTED ON ATP TOUR
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

THERE ARE NO PUBLICLY OUT GAY PRO MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHY

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.

THERE WILL BE NO OUT GAY MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AT THE U.S. OPEN, YET AGA

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. Statistilly speakg, there mt be a man the top 100, 200, 500 or even 1, 000 who is gay, right?

THE GAY TENNIS PLAYERS SMASHG DOWN BARRIERS AS WIMBLEDON 2023 GETS UNRWAY

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.

As Rippon highlighted, g out and beg labeled as “that gay athlete” is not easy to al wh. The most tellg sign of the lack of out gay men profsnal tennis is that the only player wearg any rabow apparel this summer was a straight guy who had to apologize for g gay slurs durg the Olympics. Open starts s two-week n New York, I feel pelled to rehash this prsg statistic: There will once aga be no openly gay male players at one of the sport’s premier events.

“To be hont, I’m somewhat surprised that there still hasn’t been an out active ATP Tour level player, ” said Nick Lee, a former llege tennis player at Vassar who is openly gay.

5 ACTIVE TENNIS PLAYERS WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY OR BISEXUAL, FT. DARIA KASATKA & SAMANTHA STOSUR

The absence of out male pro tennis players is noteworthy a summer that saw the first gay NFL player and gay NHL prospect e out and a rerd number of out LGBTQ Olympians, cludg the most men ever. C., foced on the dividual nature of the sport when tellg Outsports why he thks gay pro tennis players stay closeted. “There are no out gay players on the ATP tour bee most players don’t pick up a racket hop to be a role mol for an entire margalized muny, ” Bradley said.

“It tak a special personaly to both thrive a profsnal sport AND live thentilly as a gay man. For so long gayns has been attributed to weakns — this n alienate a player om g out.

“The g out procs is so nuanced, and I n image the trici that e wh beg gay and playg a profsnal sport. But the fear that an out player would be hound by the media has been molished by how quickly the Carl Nassib story fad after the Las Vegas Rairs fensive leman me out as gay June. I thk “gay male pro tennis player out” would be a story that quickly fas as an obssn a culture where “breakg news” gets old really fast.

"IF THERE'S A GAY PLAYER THE LOCKER ROOM, NOTHG HAPPENS" - DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN, THE LATT STAR TO SUPPORT THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT

On a prsg note, the event will once aga have no out male players, not a surprise sce there are no out gay or bi men on the tour. The historic nature of that many out players is not lost on Nick Lee, a former llege tennis player at Vassar who is openly gay and who was stmental pilg this list. As for the men’s si, we have wrten at length about the absence of out male players (the bt theory as to why me om a gay former llege player), but at least there are LGBTQ alli among top men’s players.

FRZ SAYS OPENLY GAY PLAYER WOULD BE ACCEPTED ON ATP TOUR

“I don’t thk ’s really a taboo, but I’ve seen qutns before about why there aren’t any openly gay men on the tour, and I jt wanted to kd of voice my support that general area.

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.

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

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.