Brazilian tennis player João Lucas Reis da Silva In recent weeks he has become one of the most talked about figures in tennis after he became the first active male tennis player to reveal his homosexuality.
Da Silva gave an interview to The Athletic to express the boom that has been generated after the announcement of his relationship with the Brazilian actor and model Gui Sampaio Ricardo. “I didn’t think about it, I just wanted to put a photo with him. Furthermore, it has been a crazy week but with a happy ending after winning the Procopio Cup in São Paulo. I didn’t feel any pressure, I was happy, I had my boyfriend with me supporting me along with my entire team.”
The tennis player stated that he went through very hard years before openly revealing his homosexuality. “I told my family I was gay five years ago, before that, it was very hard. I couldn’t tell my coaches and my friends.. When I started loving myself, it was something different. It changed my life, it changed everything, the relationship with my parents and my coaches.”
A Da Silva who stated that he did not expect the commotion that has been generated with the publication of the photo congratulating his boyfriend. “When I took the photo I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s my boyfriend’s birthday. Happy birthday, I love you.’ And then, Boom! For me it was so normal that I didn’t even realize it. I expected to receive negative reactions, but 99.9% were positive. “I’m happy that people respect me and maybe admire me.”
However, he believes that having revealed his homosexuality has also helped to reduce homophobic comments in the locker room. “In locker rooms and tournaments I used to hear things that bothered me. But when I started telling everyone I was gay and those people found out, they stopped saying those things. It seems that when they meet someone close to them who is gay, they respect them more and stop making shitty comments.. It is important to stop this. “If people see someone gay at the top of tennis, things can change, and then people could stop saying things that they shouldn’t say and that bother people.”
Da Silva also confessed that it was difficult for him not to have a reference when it came to confessing his homosexuality and he hopes to be a reference for those tennis players who want to come out of the closet. “When I was 15 or 16 I had trouble accepting myself. If I had had someone tell me ‘I’m gay and I’ve played in big tournaments’ it would have been easier for me to accept and love myself. People told me that and that they admire me, that I inspire them, and that is something very important for me and for them. I have no problem being remembered as the great gay tennis player, but I don’t want them to talk about it all the time. “I know there will be a lot of attention on me.”
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