Taylor Fritz supports gay tennis players appearing on ATP tours: People would approve

American tennis player Taylor Fritz, also ranked ninth in the world, said that if ATP tour players are gay, they should be openly accepted.

Taylor Fritz supports gay tennis players on ATP tours. Courtesy: AP

By India Today Web Desk: American tennis star Taylor Fritz believes that if players on the ATP tour are gay, they should be accepted openly.

Several tennis players, both current and former on the WTA tour, have spoken out about their homosexuality, but the same is not true of ATP players.

Fritz reckons that male players may be a bit reluctant to reveal themselves because of the attention it brings.

“I’m not sure if there are gay tennis players in the top 100. Statistically there should be… I think it’s weird because I feel like a player would be accepted. Me and my friends, other players on the tour wouldn’t have a problem with that, it would be completely normal and I think people would approve,” Fritz said in an interview with Clay.

“I couldn’t tell you why (no one has come out). That would be big news, and maybe people just don’t want to be in the spotlight, maybe they don’t want the distraction of getting all the attention and stuff like that,” he added.

Still in July, the best tennis player in Russia Daria Kasatkina revealed that he was gay and in a relationship with a woman.

Earlier this year, an ATP Tour survey found that 75% of players had heard others use homophobic slurs. That’s why the Tour partnered with You Can Play, an organization that promotes LGBTQ+ participation in sports.

The study also showed “strong fear of rejection, isolation from others on tour and loneliness”.