Tennis pro João Lucas Reis da Silva continues hot streak since coming out as gay
João Lucas Reis da Silva won the ATP Challenger de Santa Fe championship during his first Pride month as an out gay man. The post Tennis pro João Lucas Reis da Silva continues hot streak since coming out as gay appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
João Lucas Reis da Silva is on a hot streak during the six months since he came out publicly as a gay man late last year, and it’s bringing him close to his highest ATP ranking yet.
Reis da Silva captured his second consecutive tournament championship last week, winning the AAT Challenger de Santa Fe in Argentina to claim his first ATP Challenger Tour singles title in his career. He is the first out gay male player to do so in the history of the tour.
The Brazilian defeated Argentina’s Lautaro Midón in straight sets (6-4, 6-3) on the Santa Fe clay to complete a run through the field during which he didn’t drop a single set.
“I fought a lot for this one,” Reis da Silva said via Instagram following the victory. “I’m glad that the result came at the right time.”
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Adding to his accolades coming out of Santa Fe, the win pushed Reis da Silva to 266 in the ATP’s World Rankings, just seven spots lower than his highest rank ever (259) which he achieved in May 2023.
His climb up the world rankings has received a huge boost in the months since he came out rather innocuously via an Instagram post in Dec. 2024. Since coming out, Reis da Silva has won three singles titles, including the International Tennis Federation M25 Copa Milo in Coquimbo, Chile, and an ATP Challenger Tour doubles title at the Punte Del Este Open in Uruguay.
Outsports’ 2024 Male Hero of the Year also qualified for the 2025 Rio Open, falling to Tseng Chun-hsin in the qualifying round in early February.
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The post Tennis pro João Lucas Reis da Silva continues hot streak since coming out as gay appeared first on Outsports.
