Gay women tennis players
We love the visibility these sports pros bring to the court
BY LARA IQBAL GILLING, IMAGES BY HAMELTION, SI.ROBI (WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
The only two openly gay men to compete in elite-level tennis were active before World War Two. Gottfried von Cramm was a multiple grand slam winner, but was arrested for being gay in Nazi Germany. Bill Tilden won six US National Championships in a row and won Wimbledon three times too.
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, online dating back to Billie Jean King.
The tennis star is a 20th century womxn loving womxn icon. She was outed when she was sued by her former spouse Marilyn Barnett in 1981, making her the first openly gay female competitor of her celebrity. At the height of her career, she was ranked at number one. Although being outed led to her losing financial backing, she became an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights in sport.
These are some lgbtq+ women playing at W
Women’s tennis leads the field on coming out
Australian tennis celebrity Margaret Court made headlines and log books with her U.S. Open prevail in 1973, when she became the first mother in history to succeed three of the four Grand Slams, the most prestigious tournaments in tennis. More than a quarter-century later, Court made news again, lashing out at women’s players who don’t adhere to her heteronormative, family-centric life on tour.
“Tennis is full of lesbians,” Court, now a pastor, said sourly in a 2017 interview. “Everyone knows it’s erroneous … [The church] is here to help them overcome [that lifestyle].”
Now, womxn loving womxn tennis legends Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, fittingly Court’s biggest career rivals, are rightly asking that her name be stripped from the Australian Open’s arena after her remarks caused an uproar across the tennis tour. Court’s homophobia is appalling, but she’s right about one thing: women’s tennis is indeed replete with lesbians, always has been — and it’s absolutely glorious.
The French open last year contained three lesbians in the 128-player draw, for example. Australian pro, Casey Dellacqua, made headlines in 2013 when her female companion h
LGBTQ Tennis
The sports world historically does not have a great reputation when it comes to LGBTQ acceptance and tolerance. However, the sport of Tennis stands out as one which has forged its own fascinating and unusual history with several LGBTQ players and stories.
Recently, the US Tennis Association created its first-ever tournament with divisions specifically for same-sex couples.
Many of the LGBTQ Tennis stories are not that well known. We deserve to change that!
To be sure, there is still much progress to be made. Tennis stars such as Martina Navratilova and sports analysts have recently contributed some constructive insights into the course of LGBTQ recognition in the sport (see 'Further Research/Reading' below). Nevertheless, significant milestones have been made by a number of LGBTQ tennis greats. For example, do you know:
- which gay tennis player is considered the greatest male tennis player of all period (winning the US Open a record 7 times, and a career winning percentage of 94%), was nicknamed 'the Oscar Wilde of the tennis world', but was barred from professional tennis when it was revealed he was gay?
- which woman loving woman tennis player is noted for
Where are the Homosexual Men in Tennis?
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. As far as the records book signal, only two openly gay men own played at an elite level, both before World War II, according to the book, A People’s History of Tennis by writer David Berry. The first, Gottfried (Baron) von Cramm, a German aristocrat noted for his gentlemanly conduct and equitable play, won the 1934 and 1936 French Open before the German government arrested him in 1938 for having a gay affair with a Jewish actor. He was jailed for six months before marrying a heiress, facing down a exclude from Wimbledon after the incident, organism 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. Tilden was sentenced to a year in prison, served seven months and received five-year parole conditions so strict that they virtu