Too often tennis has been perceived as a privileged, white, straight, upper-class sport. We can change that.
Given tennis is such an international sport, a gay male tennis player would still have challenges competing in countries where being gay is not even legal, and you certainly do not have teammates who have your back.
So, the barriers are real. I applaud the next tennis player who has the guts to live his life authentically, while also respecting if players are simply not comfortable being public even in today’s climate.— Former tennis pro Brian Vahaly reflecting on why there have been so few out Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) players in an interview with Forbes. Vahaly and Francisco Rodriguez, who both came out as gay in retirement, remain the only two.
Related: Russia’s top tennis star Daria Kasatkina came out with an Olympic gf reveal, consequences be damned
Donston
It is weird that there were a couple of out, relevant male tennis players in the damn 60s. Yet, today there’s not a single publicly out player in the ATP, NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL (any longer). Not just no gay-presenting. None who are queer or bi or pan or fluid or whatever presenting. None who are unabashedly in a gay relationship. It is strange and disconcerting.
Kangol2
Great point; there clearly are some gay/bi/pan/queer male athletes in the ATP, NBA, MLB, NFL, and NBA, but right now, none are willing to come out. (Are there any in MLS? I can’t recall–maybe one or two?) Queerty reported on a few minor leagues, including a talented pitcher who was unaccountably released–I still cannot figure out why, given his very good record–but it seems like whatever’s going on, they aren’t coming out or being out right now, despite all the pro-LGBTQ rhetoric the teams and leagues regularly put out there.
Laughing Reader
Hey my boy Carl is gay and plays for the Buccaneers. And hot! Carl you got fans bro.
Kangol2
Ah yes, @LaughingReader, you are correct about Carl Nassib–he’s the only one right now! Sorry about that!
cynthia_foxe
avid watcher of tennis on the tennis channel and also online, i can see why they stay in closet due to phobia in the sport, alas….its sad tho. one can kind of guess which ones may be tho….
abfab
Report on Badmitten! It’s chock full of very fun and happy people and it’s GAYER than a picnic basket. Ping Pong? Mini Golf? Scrabble?
Hey kids, not for nothing, but Billie Jean King made it okay dammit. She even teaches courses on how to deal with the bullshit. It sucks that people are still tripping on this issue. Make it stop!!!!!
Flushing Meadows!!!! Forest Hills! Shout out!
dbmcvey
This went right over your head.
abfab
0 points = love
bachy
Vahaly sports a classic Illya Kuryakin haircut c. 1964.
Man About Town
In that case, I’m happy to be his Napoleon Solo!
cuteguy
It’s pretty ironic since tennis is considered a “sissy” sport when compared to football. I used to get teased by my “straight” male friends when they found out I played tennis. They would always tell me to stick to “real manly sports. So it’s so ironic that tennis is so homophobic. And not only with men. Remember that golden girls episode, I believe it was the final one, where Sophia makes a joke when she catches Blanche and Rose in an emotional hug? She quips “what is this, Wimbledon ?” Google it and you will see that there was an apparent “scandal” back in the day that there were *gasp* alleged lesbian tennis players. Lol
Kangol2
Interesting that your friend considered tennis a “sissy” sport, given the reputations of some of the most famous tennis stars, especially of the 1970s and 1980s, like Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Björn Borg, Yannick Noah, etc. on up through Boris Becker, André Agassi, etc. Talk about super straight, I don’t think there was any question about them. Even now, the top male stars (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, etc.) are unambiguously straight and discussed as such by the press (their girlfriends, wives, etc. are regularly featured, etc.). The issue of lesbians in tennis broke open when Billie Jean King was outed, and Martina Navratilova came out, and there have been some very high-profile lesbian tennis players (Amelie Mauresmo, etc.) since then.
dhmonarch89
‘… I applaud the next tennis player who has the guts to live his life authentically…’ Next?? There’s yet to be a first. Brian’s out now, but he was never out during his career. I think having a homophobic sponsor may have something to do with it. Emirates sponsors men’s tennis- a national airline company with anti-gay policies representing a country with anti-gay laws.