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. There are a handful of out gay tennis players offering vital LGBTQ+ representation at Wimbledon in London.
World No. Joao Lucas Reis da Silva picked up his first-ever ATP Challenger triumph at the Santa Fe Challenger last week. The Brazilian is the first active male pro tennis. Here are some of the top ATP stars who have publicly said they would support an openly gay men’s pro tennis player: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Liam Brody, Kevin. João Lucas Reis da Silva was the first active male tennis player to come out as gay.
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. Read our Privacy Policy. Reis da Silva has felt a "different energy" - in real life and online - since the post. It quickly became viral. Like happy birthday. The number of his Instagram followers has climbed from 7, to over 25, The following week he won the Procopio Cup in Rio de Janeiro, earning himself a coveted spot in the qualifying draw for the city's ATP event in February.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. Cole Palmer hits back at Chelsea's critics in X-rated interview after scoring twice in Club World Cup final win - as DAZN are forced to apologise for his swearing Christian Horner thought he was untouchable at the top of F1 after brushing off THAT scandal - now he finally knows what comeuppance looks like You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook.
It was just a tiny part. But unlike the women's tour, where a number of active players are currently in same-sex relationships, the men's tour has not seen an openly gay player make up its ranks until Reis. I came out before that. The amount of attention that Reis da Silva has received, particularly from overseas, seems to have caused an element of bemusement to the player and his partner. Two of the sport's iconic stars, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, who between them swept the Grand Slams from the s through to the s, are proud activists who have become role models for others.
Your support is invaluable. Most recently, American former world No 64 Brian Vahaly came out in , 10 years after calling time on his career. Jonathan Jurejko. Enter your comment. Neither was Reis da Silva's sexuality. Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive. Because Reis da Silva had unwittingly become a trailblazer.
To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. Their relationship was not a secret. Although a world away from the high profile top players in the ATP rankings, Reis' post has nonetheless broken down barriers in a sport where a male player has never publicly affirmed his sexuality during his active career. They were married, but split, according to reports in Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady, Carlos Alcaraz and more swear by these - but which are life-changing and which are just nonsense?
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