5 incredibly successful tennis players who happen to be homosexual

Here are 3 other great tennis players who also came out:

Helen Jacobs

Helen Jacobs

Country: United States of America

Duration: Late 1920s, 1930s, early 1940s

Grand Slams: 10

10 Grand Slam titles in women’s tennis during the 1930s says a lot about this great tennis player. Apart from tennis, she was also involved in the US Navy intelligence during World War II in the capacity of a commander.

Long known to have been lesbian, Helen’s lifelong companion was Virginia Gurnee. Helen managed her game and her sexual orientation without any controversy, which is a mark of how straightforward she was with her public life.

Rennae Stubbs

Rennae Stubbs

Country: Australia

Duration: 1990s, 2000s, Early 2010s

Grand Slams: 6

Two of the major achievements that define Rennae Stubbs are her haul of 6 Grand Slams titles, and her run of four consecutive Olympic representations. She is also the longest-serving member of the Australia Fed Cup team: 17 years.

Stubbs has a reputation for being frank and honest about her sexuality. She said she got plenty of positive reinforcement and positive comments from fans after she came out. She was in a long term relationship with former doubles partner Lisa Raymond.

Once, in an interview, Stubbs said, “I’d just like to be a little bit more open about it now because I want some 16-year-old girl out there to think, ‘It’s OK’. All it is is somebody loving somebody. And it would be nice if everybody could just accept that it’s not a choice, this is who you are. You would never, ever choose this, choose to be gay. It’s such a difficult thing to deal with and coming out to people and talking about it, and coming out to your family.”

Amelie Mauresmo

Amelie Mauresmo

Country: France

Duration: 1990s, 2000s

Grand Slams: 2

Olympics medals: 1

The most famous homosexual tennis player in recent times, Amelie Mauresmo has been there, done that. She has been World No.1, won Grand Slam titles and an Olympics medal, and even been a successful coach.

After being active on the court for about 10 years, Mauresmo retired in 2009.

The international media repeatedly pestered Mauresmo in her early career, asking her about boyfriends. Then one fine day, before the final of the 1999 Australian Open, she came out (about her girlfriend) in an simple yet strong fashion: “You can say she’s my girlfriend. You can write about her. I don’t want to hide Sylvie. I love her.” The prevalent rumors about her sexuality immediately stopped.

Mauresmo’s disclosure of her sexuality didn't hurt her career or the image of the sport in any way. Her major sponsors stuck with her and supported her decision to come out.

Mauresmo went on to coach Andy Murray in 2015, and has been an active member in tennis circles of late.