"I would love to see Serena Williams take Margaret Court out of the record books" - Brian Vahaly on his career, on being the only ATP player to come out as gay, and on making tennis more inclusive

While male athletes in several sports have come out of the closet in recent years, the ATP Tour seems somewhat of an anamoly. No active male tennis player has come out and identified as gay, leaving retired pro Brian Vahaly with the mantle of being the only openly gay ATP player, current or retired.

As Pride Month comes to an end today, Sportskeeda caught up with Vahaly to talk about the changes he would like to see take place on the professional tours, how he works with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to make tennis more inclusive and welcoming for members of the LGBTQ community, and how his tennis career helped him carve out a successful career in the corporate world.

Sportskeeda: To start with, let’s talk about your time on the ATP tour. You reached the top 70 and competed for several years. Looking back on your time as a professional tennis player, what are your favorite memories?

Brian Vahaly at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California in March 2004

Brian Vahaly: As you look back on your career – your best tournaments are typically your best memories. For me, Indian Wells was my best tournament where I beat three former top 10 players in a row - Tommy Robredo, Fernando Gonzalez and Juan Carlos Ferrero. So that was a big moment for me in my career.

Secondly, for me, Michael Chang was my role model growing up and the opportunity to compete against him and to beat him was a big memory for me personally. Certainly playing Agassi on Center Court in Australia and playing on the Center Courts at the French and US Open certainly sticks out as well.

Sportskeeda: You were among the few players who went to college and played on the college tennis circuit before you went on to the ATP tour. Do you think that helped you prepare for the ATP tour?

Brian Vahaly: Yes. I saw a lot of players growing up, turning pro too early and inevitably fading out. For me, I felt I wasn't physically or mentally mature enough to go out on the tour. I loved my time at the University of Virginia. I think that helped me when I was out there competing. I think it's proven over the last 10 years to be a very strong route for some players like Kevin Anderson, Cameron Norrie, James Blake, people who needed a few more years to develop and ultimately play some great tennis and then move on to the pro tour.

Sportskeeda: For players today, would you advise them to go to college first and then go on to the tour? Or do you think it's like an individual decision based on their own development and circumstances?

Brian Vahaly: I think it's all an individual decision. I grew up with guys like Andy Roddick, who frankly, was ready to go pro. He was beating Pete Sampras when he was 18 or 19. That's just a different level. But there are a lot of people who need a little bit more time physically or mentally. So, it's very much an individual decision. I think college tennis is a great choice. I think pro tennis is a great choice. Professional tennis is just very difficult as an 18-year-old and I think you just need to make sure you have the talent and the team available in order to give yourself the best shot.

Sportskeeda: You had a major shoulder injury at the end of your career, which resulted in you retiring at a young age, especially by today’s standards. How do you look back on that? Do you feel disappointed that you did not have a very long pro career that you might have imagined as a youngster?

Brian Vahaly: Back in the mid-2000s, playing past the age of 30 was extremely uncommon. So when my shoulder surgeries happened, it felt like I would have missed another year or two. But for the most part, my career was coming to an end. Certainly, in looking back and seeing so many players that I played with on tour still out there, am I frustrated and do I wish I was still competing? Absolutely.

Brian Vahaly at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California in 2004

But at that point in time, it felt like having another surgery to try and come back for what was likely to be one to two years left of a career just didn't make a lot of sense. I made the best decision with the information I had, but certainly looking back, I would have loved to still be out there playing.

Sportskeeda: After you retired, you have carved out a very successful career in the corporate world and are now the CEO of YouFit Health Clubs. What skill sets that you had developed as a professional tennis player have helped in this new chapter of your professional life?

Brian Vahaly: One of the things I love about tennis and why I serve on the board of directors of the USTA (United States Tennis Association) is all the things tennis teaches you. So even if you don't go on to be a professional player, there's just so many great character traits that the sport leaves you with. That's why I love this sport so much. For me, it's time management, it's knowing how to handle wins as much as how to handle defeat, how to wake up the next day and train harder, how to handle feedback, how to give feedback, how to trust your instincts.

There’s a lot of great things that come out of the sport. I think it took me a while to understand how those skills on the tennis court would translate into a work setting. But I was eager to find chapter two of my life after tennis. A lot of those instincts and skills that came out of the sport are serving me well in the business world.

Sportskeeda: We have seen several players struggling with life post-retirement. Do you think enough is being done for players from an organizational perspective while they're playing to make them think about what their future plans should be like when they retire?

Brian Vahaly: Playing professional tennis is tough enough, so to ask players to think about their next career while competing at the highest level is really challenging.

I've only spoken to a few players who have been thoughtful about what's next. But what I think the ATP tour could be doing is helping those players who are on the backside of their careers, perhaps they have injuries, perhaps they are ready to retire, and putting them with some type of mentorship or ATP program that would help them go from being a professional tennis player to a regular citizen with a regular job.

It is a really hard and confusing time, your whole identity is ripped away from you. In many cases, your friends are no longer around and your income has now been taken away. You really don't have any work experience for the sort of a traditional 9-to-5 job. That's why you see a lot of players go bankrupt. You see a lot of players at times getting into drugs and trying to recapture that adrenaline high that they had as a professional athlete. It's a very difficult time to navigate and I do think we could be doing more to support those players as they come off the tour.

Sportskeeda: Moving away from your career, June is celebrated all over the world as Pride Month. You are the only male player who competed on the ATP Tour to come out as gay after you retired. When you did come out, what was the reaction or feedback from the tennis community?

Brian Vahaly: I think I'm the only one out there right now as a former ATP player to come out as gay. I certainly knew it was going to be a little lonely and isolating. I think I expected to hear more from the tennis community and I actually heard nothing. Most of the feedback I got was just from the everyday sports watcher.

When I came out, I got a lot of hate mail, which was at times really hard to manage, but I certainly also got some positive ones. I wasn't going to make that announcement or that decision without being comfortable with myself and understanding who I am, who my family is, what my values are, and what's important to me. It didn't necessarily have as much emotional impact as I thought it would. For the most part, I think tennis and the ATP tour never really talked about it. However, I wasn't doing it simply for the tennis community. I was doing it for myself, my family, and the thousands of other tennis-playing LGBT players, closeted or not, who may feel isolated or alone.

Sportskeeda: On the women’s tour, we have seen a lot of female players who have come out as gay. But on the men’s ATP Tour, we haven’t seen that. Do you have any perspective on why that might be?

Brian Vahaly: I believe the ATP tour is undergoing a study right now to look into how they can create impact in the space and not just make a statement, but take it a step further. I applaud them for trying to create real change. Because certainly, when it comes to a lot of the sport, and tennis is certainly no exception, it can be a very homophobic environment at times. What's different about tennis, as opposed to a lot of the other team sports where players are coming out, is that the other sports have teammates immediately behind them, and it allows them to rally around the player. In tennis, you're really isolated, you're very much by yourself and playing for yourself.

My hope is that the ATP understands the role they need to play in creating a safe and welcoming environment. What I can control as a board member of the USTA is to continue to have Pride events at the US Open and show that as a governing body and as a sport, we are very welcoming. And that this is a place where the LGBTQ community has a home and can fit in.

Sportskeeda: You mentioned some of the work that you have been doing with the USTA, including the Pride events. Can you tell us something about the initiatives lined up this year in that area?

Former tennis professional Brian Vahaly with his USTA colleagues

Brian Vahaly: We are still working on the US Open this year. It'll be the first Thursday of the tournament where we'll have Pride Day again. We're in meetings as we speak and are looking at ways on how we can continue to improve the event.

We want to demonstrate and show our values and part of that is having a really big and great Pride experience. We have 14 days a year to show who we are as a sport, and we've dedicated one of those to the LGBTQ community and, to me, that says something.

I think as important as it is for that day to go well, it's also really important to have actual action in the community; so really making partnerships with other LGBTQ groups around the country, seeing where they're creating impact and amplifying that. It's not just one day, it's actual work being done around the year so that people of the LGBTQ community can actually feel the work of the USTA in their local communities.

Sportskeeda: I've read that some athletes feel that coming out may lead to losing sponsors and have a detrimental impact. You're a former player and now part of the corporate world. Do you feel that Corporate America or corporates across the world are ready to support an active male tennis player who comes out and says "I'm gay"?

Brian Vahaly: I think the risk of losing sponsorship was back when I was playing in the early 2000s. I think people like Jason Collins [American former professional basketball player] and Gus Kentworthy [British-American former freestyle skier] have shown that you can have a great career and be open and honest about who you are and in the LGBTQ space. I think coming out now would be a great opportunity to not only shine a light on our community, but frankly, do well for their own pockets and their own wallets.

I think the challenge in tennis being such a worldwide sport is that we're playing in countries where being LGBTQ is illegal. You have to be really thoughtful about that piece. There would be different challenges for a tennis player coming out, but I don't think sponsorship would be one of them. But surely there are some tournaments on the ATP tour where I would be very uncomfortable traveling to as an openly gay man.

Sportskeeda: From your experience, what are some of the changes or initiatives that you would like to see besides what is being done at the US Open? Perhaps in day-to-day life on the ATP/ WTA Tour or in general across the world to be more welcoming to people from the LGBTQ community?

Brian Vahaly: On the ATP tour, you come in for what's called an ATP school where you get press training, and to better understand what it's like on the tour. It is a great entry level course into becoming a professional. To me, there's an opportunity there to speak to the players and talk about the culture, talk about the LGBTQ space, talk about their behavior, and your impact as a role model, both to the fans, but also to the other players as well.

I think that would go a long way in creating a safe space for players so that they know that they are joining a tour where one of their values and priorities is creating a welcoming environment for players of all backgrounds. To me, that's a really good start. And I think also really policing the language more. I think often homophobic language is said, not with intent, but because it's sort of a way to build camaraderie amongst their peers. Players need to better understand the impact of using those negative words against minority communities. At USTA, I think we are doing a great job of bringing visibility to this and partnering with local communities, partnering with groups like the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Association and highlighting their work. These are just small things, but it will take a million small steps in order to make people feel welcome. And for me, it's about continual improvement in the right direction.

Sportskeeda: Moving on to the ongoing Wimbledon Championships. We are on Day 2 of the tournament. Tell us some of the players and storylines that you will be keenly following over this fortnight. (Note: The interview was conducted prior to Serena Williams' first round loss at Wimbledon)

Brian Vahaly: I'm certainly one of many excited to see Serena Williams come back, as I’d love to see her pass Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record. Margaret Court is a very vocal and homophobic person who said many negative things about families in the gay community. I would love to see Serena take her out of the record books.

Brian Vahaly wants Serena Williams to surpass Margaret Court's Grand Slam record.

On the men’s side, the idea of another possible calendar Grand Slam with Rafael Nadal after Novak Djokovic last year is really exciting. I'm obviously always watching the Americans. We're slowly getting more and more American players on the men’s side. We've had a very difficult time from the days of Agassi and Sampras as we look for someone to sort of carry the torch. So, I’ll be watching the American men very closely, hoping to see some progress there.

Sportskeeda: One final question, can you tell us about what attracted you to take up your current role as CEO of YouFit Health Clubs and what are your ambitions for the company?

Brian Vahaly: One of the things I learned that I love to do after tennis is jobs with a lot of adrenaline. I'm trying to recreate that feeling on Center Court. Part of that for me is joining companies that are struggling, that are going through a very difficult time and turning them around. You have this tremendous need to fix things very, very quickly, which causes you to really tune into your instincts, think about prioritization, think about your time management, think about team members you can trust and cannot trust, and look to steer the ship in the right direction. For me, those turnarounds are something that I love.

As we came out of COVID, the fitness industry was hit very, very hard and it's my responsibility to get this company back to where it was. It's great to be in a leadership position. That's certainly something that tennis has taught me and I want to spend the next three years getting this company to a position that is ready to sell and then inevitably move on. It's an exciting time, it's a challenging time. But for me to sit in a leadership position with a company that needs a fresh perspective and a fresh look is super exciting to me.

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