Tennis – Copa Davis – Quarterfinals – Italy v USA – Palacio de los Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena, Malaga, Spain – November 24, 2022 Taylor Fritz of the USA after beating Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the quarterfinals Link REUTERS/Jon Nazca /Picture File
Taylor Fritz said that if a male tennis player on the ATP Tour came out as gay, he would be welcomed by his peers, the top American tennis player told tennis publication Clay.
While past and present top WTA Tour players are all openly gay, to date, no male player competing at the sport’s highest level has done the same. on one’s own.
“I’m not sure if there are gay players in the top 100,” Fritz said in an interview published on Sunday. “Statistically, there should have been. … I thought it was strange, because I felt like a player would be accepted.
“Myself and my friends the other players on the tour won’t have a problem with that, it’s completely normal and I think people will accept it.”
The 25-year-old world No 9 said players may be reluctant to take the field because of the attention that will come with it.
“I can’t tell you why (nobody came out),” Fritz said.
“It’s going to be a lot of big news and maybe people don’t want to be in the spotlight, maybe they don’t want to be distracted by all the attention and stuff like that.”
Another reason could be that those players don’t want to risk being mistreated or shunned by their peers.
An ATP Tour survey of players earlier this year found that 75% reported hearing other players use homophobic slurs, leading to a partnership with You Can Play, an organization. The organization is committed to further promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.
The survey also found that “strong fear of rejection, isolation from others on tour and loneliness” can be barriers to LGBTQ+ players coming out with their gender. is different.
It also finds strong support for ATP’s action to combat homophobia.
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