Brazilian João Lucas Reis, 24, became the first ATP (Professional Tennis Association) professional tennis player still active to come out as gay.
Current number 367 in the ranking, Reis, born in Recife, published a photo on Instagram this week celebrating the birthday of his partner, actor Guilherme Ricardo. “Happy birthday. Happy life. I love you so much,” the tennis player wrote in the caption.
The best results in his career are the runner-up in the challengers in Florianópolis, in April, and in Ambato (Ecuador), in 2022. His best place in the singles ranking was 259th place, achieved in May 2023.
In 2017, former professional tennis player Brian Vahaly declared himself homosexual – ten years after leaving the court.
“I heard homophobic comments all the time in the locker room, in my face, behind my back,” Vahaly said in an interview with The Telegraph in 2018. “It was part of the culture.”
Among women, a number of tennis players have declared themselves homosexual over the last few years. This is the case, for example, of Russian Daria Kasatkina, currently number 9 in the WTA (Professional Tennis Players Association) rankings, who is dating skater Natalia Zabiiako.
Billie Jean King and Martina Navrátilová, retired multiple Grand Slam champions, are the best-known faces in the openly gay world.
