First gay male tennis pro Joao Lucas Reis da Silva breaks silence after coming out on Instagram
Joao Lucas Reis Da Silva of Brazil plays a backhand in his Boys’ Singles on July 9, 2018 in London, England. (Getty)
Tennis star Joao Lucas Reis da Silva has spoken publicly for the first time since coming out as gay in a post celebrating his relationship with his partner Gui Sampaio Ricardo.
The Brazilian came out on Instagram earlier this month, sharing a series of photos with his boyfriend, actor and model Gui Sampaio Ricardo. He captioned the post: “Happy birthday. Happy life. I love you so much.”
Speaking to The Athletic on Sunday (15 December), he said: “I didn’t think about it … I just wanted to post a picture with him.”
‘It was so normal for me that I didn’t think about it’
Now 24, he told his family about his sexuality five years ago but admitted that before that, it had been tough for him.
“I couldn’t say too much about myself to my coaches, to my friends. When I tried to love myself, that was something different. It changed my life, changed everything, the relationship with my parents, with my coaches.”
He said of the Instagram post: “I was like, ‘It’s my boyfriend’s birthday. Happy birthday. I love you’. It was so normal for me, I didn’t think about it.”
The responses to the post have been “99.9 per cent positive”, he said.
‘I know there will be a lot of attention on me’
“I’m really happy that people respect me, that people look at me, admire me maybe.” He now hopes he can be the role model he wished he’d had when he was growing up.
“Maybe if I had had someone playing saying: ‘I’m gay, I’m here, I’m competing for the big tournaments’, it would have been easier for me to accept myself and to love myself. People have told me that. People told me they admire me, that I inspire people. So, it’s a big deal for me and them.
“I know there will be a lot of attention on me. I don’t have a problem with being remembered as the great gay tennis player but I don’t want to talk about that every time.”
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