Which male tennis players are gay

I just played it quiet and focused on where I thought I could make an impact, which was really on the player development side of the house. After first picking up a racket at the age of 2, Vahaly was a star athlete from to at the University of Virginia, where he was a three-time All-American, reached the NCAA singles final and graduated with a double major in finance and business management.

NBC News Logo. While there is now greater cultural acceptance of the LGBTQ community, Vahaly pointed out there are still a number of factors preventing male players — like his younger self — from wanting to come out, including the potential financial fallout from sponsors and the reality that the tour still travels to countries where being gay is neither legal nor accepted.

ET : A previous version of this article misstated where Brian Vahaly grew up. But six months after he and his partner, Bill Jones, became parents to twin boys via surrogacy, Vahaly had a change of heart. IE 11 is not supported.

The nature of tennis, gender differences and money are key reasons why only one active men's player has come out in tennis. Sections U. Follow NBC News. Vahaly said he knew that coming out on a Sports Illustrated podcast would elicit a strong reaction from a sporting community that has the reputation of being largely white, straight and conservative.

There are a handful of out gay tennis players offering vital LGBTQ+ representation at Wimbledon in London. I want people to know and see that this is a safe place for them. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

In retrospect, Vahaly said, he wasted years trying to change an immutable part of himself. Profile My News Sign Out. Sign In Create your free profile. I have nothing in common with that group. As this year’s U.S.

Open kicks off, USTA President Brian Vahaly, a former top player, opens up about his coming-out journey and his approach to being an LGBTQ leader in sports. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has targeted diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and rolled back legal protections for LGBTQ people, particularly those who are transgender.

Search Search. I think that allows the space for people to be open to diversity and inclusion. It is Atlanta, not New Jersey. During his seven-year pro career, he reached a career-high ranking of World No. But Vahaly has perhaps made the biggest impact off the court.

Reaching that place of self-acceptance was a lengthy process for Vahaly, who had developed a knack for compartmentalization as a pro athlete. Max Gao is a freelance entertainment and sports journalist based in Toronto. For the sport of tennis, Reis da Silva’s seemingly innocuous Instagram post was groundbreaking, widely reported to make him the first active male player to come out as gay.

Although there are openly gay players in men’s football, baseball, basketball, rugby and American football, it seems as if in tennis, gay players’ “love for the sport and what sport gives them overrides the exclusion they feel,” according to Vahaly, who is on the USTA Board of Directors and was instrumental in starting and continuing.

In his second act, Vahaly has held senior executive positions at Washington, D. Most board members for me were significantly older, often talking to me about their daughters. Skip to Content. Ina decade after retiring due to a rotator cuff injury, he became the first current or former ATP Tour player to come out as gay.