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Daria Kasatkina came out as gay in a recent interview with blogger Vitya Kravchenko. Kasatkina also later revealed that she was dating figure skater Natalia Zabiiako.
The 25-year-old went on to speak about how homosexuality is treated in Russia, before stating that there is nothing easier in the world than being straight.
Over the years, several tennis players have announced that they are either gay or bisexual, with icons Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova being the most well-known. Currently, there are a number of players who have come out as either gay or bisexual, and here are five of them.
#1) Daria Kasatkina
WTA World No. 12 Daria Kasatkina is among the most popular active tennis players in the LGBT community and one of the more recent ones. The Russian came out as bisexual in 2021 and said that she would be willing to have a relationship with a girl.
In a recent conversation with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko, Kasatkina declared that she was a lesbian, stating that 'living in the closet' was impossible. Her girlfriend is figure skater Natalia Zebisko, who won the silver medal in the team event at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
#2) Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur is among the best tennis players to have come out of Australia in recent times, having won Majors in singles as well as doubles. The former doubles World No. 1 announced her relationship with Liz Astling when the latter gave birth to their daughter Genvieve in July 2020.
"Life in lockdown during coronavirus has been challenging in many ways but personally it’s been one of the most exciting and happy times of my life. On the 16th of June, my partner Liz gave birth to our beautiful little girl, Genevieve. It has been a whirlwind time but we could not imagine life without her now," Stosur wrote on Instagram.
Stosur retired from singles after the 2022 Australian Open but is still active on the doubles circuit. She recently reached the Wimbledon final in mixed doubles, partnering with Matthew Ebden.
#3) Alison van Uytvanck
Belgium's Alison van Uytvanck was recently in a relationship with compatriot Greet Minnen. They were the first gay couple to play together at Wimbledon in 2019. Van Uytvanck and Minnen also competed in the women's doubles competition at SW19 last year, reaching the second round before losing to Viktoriya Kuzmova and Arantxa Rus.
Van Uytvanck and Minnen have since parted ways, with the former revealing at the French Open this year that her new girlfriend is Emilie Vermeiren.
#4) Greet Minnen
WTA World No. 99 Greet Minnen became well-known for her relationship with Alison van Uytvanck, and the two were for long among the most popular gay couples in tennis. Minnen and Van Uytvanck started dating in 2016 and got engaged in December 2020, but they split last year.
Minnen has competed a lot on the ITF circuit this season, and has also taken part in a few WTA tournaments. However, she has won only two out of 11 matches so far.
The Belgian recently reached the second round of Wimbledon, beating former champion Garbine Muguruza in the first round.
#5) Demi Schuurs
Doubles World No. 18 Demi Schuurs is currently in a relationship with Carmen Kuijer. The Dutchwoman's first public announcement of her relationship came in April 2020, when she posted a video on Instagram where the couple were seen doing the 100 volley challenge.
Schuurs has had a pretty decent career in doubles, winning four WTA 1000 tournaments. Partnering with Desirae Krawczyk, the 28-year-old won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart earlier this season.
The pair also reached the final of the Madrid Open but lost to Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos.
