Gay tennis star Brian Vahaly was honored at the US Open with the best player in the world by his side
Vahaly participated in the coin toss Thursday before Carlos Alcaraz's match.
The US Open gave a big nod towards inclusion Thursday night.
Prior to Carlos Alcaraz’s second-round match, organizers took a pause to celebrate Brian Vahaly, the first top 100 men’s player to ever publicly come out as gay.
Vahaly, who’s currently the United States Tennis Association’s First Vice President, participated in the coin toss with his husband and two twins.
It was a special moment, especially given the dearth of out gay male players competing in one of tennis’ biggest tournaments. Alcaraz is also the reigning Wimbledon champion and No.1-ranked men’s player in the world.
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Vahaly, 44, first disclosed his sexuality during an interview with Sports Illustrated in 2017. The now-venture capitalist said he wasn’t able to fully come to terms with his gay identity until after he stopped playing.
“It wasn’t until after I left the game that I really had to come full circle with myself, understand who I am as a person, where am I going, am I happy, and I had to come to terms with my sexuality and that was not easy, especially coming from a sports background,” he said.
“It was a long learning curve that I’m happy to be on the other side of now … The new normal is exciting and it’s great but it was tough to go through.”
Vahaly was ranked as high as No. 64 in 2003, a year in which he defeated three top 10 players, including the world’s then-top ranked player. But a rotator cuff injury cut his career short. Overall, Vahaly underwent three operations.
While the injury was devastating, Vahaly says it gave him the space to step back and assess his life.
“I just didn’t feel safe or included in the sports field. More specifically tennis, it was a very conservative environment,” he said in a 2021 interview. “So for me, when I stopped playing I very much disappeared from my friends, my tennis world and even my family a little bit. That way I could figure out more about myself and what I wanted. It’s a self-exploration process for sure and at the time I didn’t feel like tennis was a safe enough space for me to do that.”
While two of the most iconic out gay athletes ever played on the women’s tour, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, it’s debatable whether tennis is a safe space for LGBTQ+ athletes today. Tellingly, there are no out male players on the tour right now.
Another all-time tennis great, Margaret Court, is one of the most high-profile homophobes in all of sports.
Court, who won 24 titles in her career, has routinely attacked same-sex couples. She’s said same-sex parents are “depriving” their children of normalcy, and even claimed the legalization of gay marriage represents the end of Christmas (seriously).
Vahaly, a proud gay dad himself, responded to Court’s hateful views in a 2017 interview.
“I would encourage Margaret to actually spend time with gay people who have families. Gay people do not just wake up with children. It’s a serious, intense, and exhausting experience that takes years and a lot money,” he said.
“In my experience, I have often found that most people who discriminate and stereotype people or families tend to lack first-hand knowledge. I think if she met little Parker and Bennett and actually came into our home, she would understand why her words were so hurtful to so many people.”
Vahaly’s reaction to Court illustrates his value as a standard-bearer. He didn’t resort to personal attacks or insults. Instead, he offered Court the chance to spend time with his family, and see how a same-sex household operates for herself.
Unsurprisingly, we’re still waiting for her to take him up on his offer…
Vahaly married his partner Bill Jones in 2015, and is open about how the acceptance of same-sex couples played a vital role in his coming out story.
“Seeing that my my marriage can be accepted and celebrated in the community and won’t be a problem [for my children] growing up is extremely important to me,” he said.
It was very cool to see Vahaly celebrated Thursday night, and Alcaraz’s presence was an added bonus. It was important symbolism to see the world’s best player celebrate a gay peer, and on a more superficial, Alcaraz is smoking hot.
He’s one of our favorite Calvin Klein models, for example…
He also looks pretty good kissing…gold.
As mentioned, tennis has a long way to go in terms of fostering a truly inclusive environment. But Vahaly being honored Thursday night was a damn good moment.
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