Tennis and All That

Tennis is full of lesbians according to Margaret Court. If true, that would be great but, unfortunately, visible ‘out’ lesbians are thin on the ground. However, there is one among the last 18 winners of the last 18 tournaments 1 . Leaving aside the strangeness of these rotating results, let’s talk about why van Uytvanck 2 is the only ‘out’ lesbian out of the 18 winners. I was lucky enough to grow up seeing and admiring many lesbian players, such as Amelie Mauresmo, Jana Novotna, Hana Mandlikova, Lisa Raymond, Gigi Fernandez, Conchita Martinez, Rennae Stubbs, and, of course Martina Navratilova later on in her career playing doubles. So, I find it especially odd that there are now less visible lesbians on tour. Indeed, it’s become fashionable to advertise and give media coverage to women tennis players entering heterosexual marriages. We don’t have an opportunity to celebrate lesbian marriages of current or past players in the same way, despite gay marriage becoming legalised in ma...

Congratulations to Martina Hingis on the birth of her daughter, Lia, last month. Love the photo she released on social media of baby Lia in pink dungarees, looking absolutely gorgeous 1 . The way Martina is cradling her daughter in her hands reminds me of the artistic photos of babies by Anne Geddes. She looks amazing so soon after giving birth! What’s the secret? Staying fit hiking in the mountains? Great to see Martina taking a gender neutral approach with Lia by taking her for a walk (or is it a jog?) in her blue pram 2 . Looking forward to seeing Lia holding her first tennis racquet! Maybe by the age of 2 she’ll be volleying at the net? Lucky Lia having a multi-grand slam winning genius tennis mother! Martina is also such a natural with children, as can be seen in the photos from Kids’ Day at the Samsung Open in Lugano, Switzerland, where she’s helping them acquire tennis skills 3 . She’s clearly enjoying herself and, despite being such a tennis legend, is giving these ch...