Gay tennis stars

The second Grand Slam event on the tennis calendar, the French Open, or Roland Garros, got underway in Paris on Sunday (25 May), and there are several gay tennis players offering some vital rainbow LGBTQ+ representation. Although Top Ten standouts Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev have stated that the ATP is progressive enough to accept gay players, former players who are now out of the closet say different things. Wimbledon starts Monday and and it’s a great time to remind people of active and retired tennis players who shown themselves as allies to gay athletes, pushing for a more inclusive.

This is a non-diffusing subcategory of Category:Tennis players. It includes Tennis players that can also be found in the parent category, or in diffusing subcategories of the parent. 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. She was outed when she was sued by her former partner Marilyn Barnett in , making her the first openly gay female athlete of her celebrity.

By Adrian Margaret Brune. It was an otherwise ordinary day in the world of tennis.

Just two weeks before, the men had wrapped their season in Turin and the women had said goodbye in Texas. Although Top Ten standouts Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev have stated that the ATP is progressive enough to accept gay players, former players who are now out of the closet say different things. Vahaly, ATP No. A ATP Tour survey found that 75 percent of players had reported having heard colleagues use homophobic slurs.

While many tour players may lend an encouraging word and the ATP has support programs, one thing neither can necessarily provide is an actively playing — or even actively on tour — mentor. The first, Gottfried Baron von Cramm, a German aristocrat noted for his gentlemanly conduct and fair play, won the and French Open before the German government arrested him in for having a gay affair with a Jewish actor.

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 on Sunset Boulevard by the Beverly Hills police for having sex with an underage male.

Tilden was sentenced to a year in prison, served seven months and received five-year parole conditions so strict that they virtually erased all his income from private lessons. After having another encounter with a year-old hitchhiker, he was arrested again in January and was incarcerated for another 10 months. In both instances, Tilden believed his celebrity, privileged background and friendships with the Los Angeles elites would keep him from both detention and social death.

The Hollywood tennis clubs banned Tilden from giving lessons and as a result of that and a subsequent injunction from public courts, he had fewer clients — and less money. At one point, a prestigious professional tournament at the Beverly Wiltshire Hotel invited Tilden to play and then kicked him off the draw. His one true friend, Charlie Chaplin allowed Tilden to use his private court for lessons.

tennis couples 2025

But the former No. Open Pride Day. There needs to be a camaraderie. I have spoken with players who are still reluctant to come out. But there is tremendous joy for athletes who feel less alone. What are you looking for? Where are the Gay Men in Tennis? But remaining closeted can be its own asylum.