Tennis-Fritz says that an openly gay player would be accepted on the ATP Tour

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Author: Rory Carroll

(Reuters) – Taylor Fritz said if an ATP Tour men’s player came out as gay, his peers would welcome him, the top American told tennis publication Clay.

While leading and current players on the WTA Tour have come out as gay, no male player competing at the top level of the sport has yet done so.

“I’m not sure if there are any gay tennis players in the top 100,” Fritz said in an interview published Sunday. “Statistically, there should be… I think it’s strange because I feel like the player would be accepted.

“Me and my friends, the other players on the tour, wouldn’t have any problem with that, it would be perfectly normal and I think people would accept.”

The 25-year-old world number nine said players may be reluctant to come out because of the attention that comes with it.

“I couldn’t tell you why (no one has come out),” Fritz said.

“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.”

Another reason could be that those players don’t want to risk being the target of offensive language or being alienated by their peers.

A survey of ATP Tour players earlier this year found that 75% had reported hearing other players use homophobic slurs, leading to the tour’s partnership with You Can Play, an organization committed to promoting LGBTQ+ participation in sport.

The study also found that “a strong fear of rejection, isolation from others on tour, and loneliness” are likely barriers for LGBTQ+ players to publicly disclose their sexuality to others.

It also received overwhelming support for ATP’s actions to combat homophobia.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler)