Which male tennis players are gay
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In December last year, he shared photos on social media for his boyfriend’s birthday on social media.
Despite this lack of gay representation in men’s tennis, many publicly queer women participate in the women’s game, dating back to Billie Jean King.
The tennis star is a 20th century lesbian icon. At the height of her career, she was ranked at number one.
They won the 2022 Traralgon International doubles title, and were runners up in the Georgia’s Rome Tennis Open the same year.
They were married, but split, according to reports in 2024.
Fellow tennis player Conny Perrin was also engaged to Moore whilst being her doubles partner. It was one of the best things I’ve ever felt.
They played doubles together at Wimbledon in 2019, the first gay couple to ever do so.
Demi Schuurs
The doubles specialist reached the quarter finals at Wimbledon and the semis at the Australian Open.
And you said at one point that the reactions surprised you. I feel that my level is there, although I still have to improve some important things.
– You don’t earn much money in your current ranking position. My life hasn’t changed that much. She was outed when she was sued by her former partner Marilyn Barnett in 1981, making her the first openly gay female athlete of her celebrity.
When I saw that the reactions were very good, I calmed down.
– What was the most pleasant reaction, or the one that surprised you the most?
– Billie Jean King wrote to me, a lot of people that I can’t remember now, a lot of ‘likes’. But it’s not something I want, it’s not my goal.
– You said in statements to the Brazilian press that in the years when you were telling your friends that you were gay, the homophobic jokes and sexist comments in the locker rooms or on nights out began to disappear.
– Yes, and I think that can happen in society as a whole, not just with my friends.
They announced their engagement in June.
Greet Minnen
Belgian player Minnen was engaged to her (now-retired) fellow player Alison Van Uytvanck until late 2021. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA+ media and keep us going for another generation. Last year I came close to doing it. How do you manage to keep traveling and playing?
– I have help from people who believe in me.
That ten per cent is not reflected in the ATP Tour. He was jailed for six months before marrying a heiress, facing down a ban from Wimbledon after the incident, being conscripted by the German Army and unwillingly fighting in World War II.
The second, Bill Tilden, an American, won 14 Major singles titles, including 10 Grand Slams,before he was arrested in November 1946 on Sunset Boulevard by the Beverly Hills police for having sex with an underage male.
“But I don’t regret it even one per cent.
“I couldn’t hide any more. At one point, a prestigious professional tournament at the Beverly Wiltshire Hotel invited Tilden to play and then kicked him off the draw. But the former No. 1 — and a candidate for the greatest male tennis player of all time — died of heart failure, in poverty at age 60.
But remaining closeted can be its own asylum.
‘It’s unlikely that I’m the only gay man on the tennis tour’ – interview with Joao Lucas Reis
RIO DE JANEIRO – Joao Lucas Reis, the Brazilian who at the end of 2024 became the first male tennis player on the men’s circuit to come out as gay, is clear about one thing: it is very unlikely that he is the only one.
‘I don’t know about anyone else, but I think it’s unlikely that I’m the only gay player on the tour,’ said Reis during an interview with CLAY in Rio de Janeiro.
Reis, a smiling young man who is looking for a place in the tennis elite—his current ranking is 325—, was two years old when he sat on the bed between his father and mother, took out his dummy and stammered ‘Guga’ while pointing to the television.
This article was produced by CLAY and has been published collaboratively.
It appears on The Second Serve as well.
Twenty-two years later, he again turned heads when he simply uploaded a photo with his boyfriend on Instagram.
‘Happy anniversary, happy life, I love you so much,’ he wrote on the social network in December, accompanying a photo in which he was seen with her partner, actor Gui Sampaio.
Reis, who reached No.
204 in the ATP rankings at the end of 2023, has been climbing back after an injury derailed him at the end of 2024.
Men’s professional tennis does not have a history like Reis’. “Afterwards, I faced a few consequences, but the only thing that worried me was my parents, and they were fine. I hope to play in the US Open qualifiers this year and go to the Australian Open in 2026.
– At what age did you start playing tennis?
– At the age of four, very young.
I wanted to do everything my older brother did, he’s six years older than me.
– As a child, who were your tennis idols?
– My first idol was Tsonga. As far as the records book indicate, only two openly gay men have played at an elite level, both before World War II, according to the book, A People’s History of Tennis by journalist David Berry.
She came out as gay in her teens and has been in a relationship with Carmen Kuijer since 2020.
Schurrs told the WTA: “I remember the feelings I had when I came out, so I want to help younger people understand that they should be how they want to be, and show what they want to show.”
Nadia Podoroska
French Open semi-finalist Podoroska came out in 2022, revealing her relationship with Argentinian player Guillermina Naya through an Instagram post which showed them kissing and hugging.
Billie Jean King congratulated her on coming out by posting on Twitter: “Living authentically takes such courage, but is always worth it.”
Tara Moore
Moore was both a romantic partner and doubles partner to Emina Bektas.The couple met for the first time at a tennis match.