Openly gay tennis player Nadia Podoroska explains why it is much more difficult for men to come out as homosexual on ATP Tour

Nadia Podoroska joined this growing list of WTA players to come out when she made her relationship with fellow tennis player Guillermina Naya public earlier this year.

The duo have since found support from the tennis fraternity, with Billie Jean King herself sending her best wishes for the couple. The men's Tour, however, is yet to have an openly gay player.

Addressing the issue in her latest interview with Clay magazine, Podoroska said there's a casual hostility on the men's side — where men who do not socialize or are "shy" are put into a box.

"I see it on a day-to-day basis," Nadia Podoroska said. "It is much more difficult for men because they are much more annoyed by other men. The one who doesn’t talk much, the one who is shy, people immediately say 'he’s gay'."

The former French Open semifinalist said such things make it harder for men to accept themselves. She said things were different on the women's side to share and accept these emotions.

"That way he will never accept himself," he continued. "He will never want to get close to someone. It happens at a time like that, as I saw it, like everywhere. That’s why it’s much more difficult for them. It’s not the same for women, that’s why it’s “easier” to be able to share and accept it. In men it is much tougher."

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"It’s still not that free" - Nadia Podoroska on worldview about sexuality

Podoroska in action at the 2020 French Open. Nadia Podoroska

Nadia Podoroska also spoke about the changing worldview on sexuality, batting for the need to normalize homosexuality and fluidity.

The Argentine said the world is still not as free and there are small things that one experiences on a daily basis that still promote heterosexuality as the norm.

"I think there is an ideal nowadays that we have to be open, to normalize homosexuals and bisexuals, but it’s still not that free," Nadia Podoroska said. "I feel that way, there are a lot of things that one still notices on a daily basis. That the rule is to be heterosexual."

Podoroska pointed out that she was not looking to deny the progress that has been made in terms of rights over the years but was simply highlighting the "big gap" that still exists.

"I don’t want to deny all the progress that has been made in terms of rights, but there is still a big gap," the Argentine said. "We talk about the Western countries, but there are a lot of other countries, other cultures where it is unthinkable… as for the world in general, we are light years ahead."