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McCarvel brought up how household names such as King, Amelie Mauresmo, and Martina Navratilova, helped create a sense of comfort for women coming out in professional tennis that does not yet exist on the men’s side. If the environment on the men’s side is so much more welcoming than it was just a decade ago, why isn’t there someone like Vahaly currently out in men’s professional tennis?
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These days, top players Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have all publicly stated that they would welcome an out gay man to the ATP. In the 2000s, there was not the plethora of pride events across sports that we are now seeing. To me, the fact that Vahaly was even able to make it on tour as a closeted gay man in the 2000s makes him quite an anomaly. “Shame,” is how King described the feeling that many of us have regarding our sexual orientation. The trailblazer for gay visibility on the ATP tour described himself during the panel discussion as “an anxious guy and an anxious tennis player,” stating that his discomfort with his sexual orientation throughout his life was a significant contributor to his anxiety. Vahaly, a former top 70 player on the ATP tour, came out publicly in 2017, a decade after retiring from professional tennis. The same sentiment that Van Uytvanck uttered to me the day before was expressed by the entire panel when McCarvel posed this question – that they wished just one professional men’s tennis player would finally come out. However, the question lingered: Why hasn’t even one man come out in professional tennis? We have several prominent women who have been out while playing, but no men… After all of the homophobia I have personally experienced in sports, these panelists and the packed audience gave me so much hope for the future of inclusion in sports. quuuExUYff- Nick McCarvel August 23, 2019Īs a former collegiate tennis player and gay man, this event struck a particularly sensitive chord for me. Last night got *several* standing Os during #USOpen pride, but all of us fellow panelists had to stand up at least once to acknowledge the trail she has helped blaze. In response, each of the three thanked the veteran panelists for paving the way for them to have the confidence to do so. The retired professional athletes shared how inspired they were by the active professional athletes - Rippon, Van Uytvanck, and Minnen - for their courage to be out athletes. What I found to be the most beautiful part of the event was the mutual respect and admiration that the panelists had for one another. King had us all in awe as she opened up about being outed during her professional tennis career and making the courageous decision to come out publicly, in spite of encouragement to deny the allegations.
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The audience laughed to the point of tears as self-proclaimed “America’s Sweetheart,” Rippon, cracked one joke after another. The panel left me feeling a wide range of emotions. Van Uytvanck expressed the same sentiment to me that she had told The Guardian after Wimbledon, that she wished more people, including men, would come out in professional tennis.
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Nick Lee flanked by pro tennis players Greet Minnen, left, and Alison Van Uytvanck, in New York City. I told them how inspired I was by their story, and we took a picture together. I rushed into the market to introduce myself. I immediately stopped and recognized Van Uytvanck and Minnen, who made history as the first out lesbian couple to play doubles together at Wimbledon this year. While walking to Grand Central Terminal, I spotted two familiar faces in the window of a market. The day prior to the event, I experienced the kind of serendipitous moment that I could only dream about. : /nSF1gkIuqJ- US Open Tennis August 23, 2019 In front of a packed house last night, Pride arrived at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.