The first openly gay men’s tennis player, Brian Vahaly, who is now the USTA president, recently opened up about his journey of being a father as a gay man and expressed his feelings about his coming-out journey.
Vahaly is the first current or former ATP tour player to come out as gay. He revealed his queer identity in 2017, two years after getting married to his partner, Bill Jones. The couple found out that they were expecting twins via a surrogate on their wedding day, and now they are parents to twin boys.
Years after becoming a father, Vahaly recently spoke with NBC News about facing hate for raising children with his husband. The USTA president revealed that although he was disappointed to receive hateful messages, he was well-prepared.
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“There was a lot of feedback I received about raising kids into this world, having kids without a mother. I was disappointed to receive all of that, but I was very well-prepared," said Brian Vahaly.
He also opened up about how he felt about being gay in the initial days of his life, adding:
"Back in those days, if I thought about a gay bar and what it meant to be gay, and I would see those people publicly, I thought to myself, ‘That is not me. I have nothing in common with that group.’”
Vahaly has been associated with tennis since the age of two, and ever since then, he has not known a life without the sport. He started his collegiate career at the University of Virginia, and following this, he enjoyed a seven-year pro career, during which he claimed victories against his childhood inspirations, Michael Chang and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Brian Vahaly once opened up about his favorite memories from his tennis career
In 2022, Brian Vahaly sat for a conversation with Sportskeeda, where he fielded questions surrounding the ins and outs of various aspects of his life, including his time in tennis. He was asked about his time at the ATP Tour, where he revealed his favorite memories as a professional tennis player.
Opening up about the Indian Wells tournament being his favorite tournament of his career, where he got the better of several top-notch players, including Juan Carlos Ferrero and more, he said:
"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."
He further opened up about another of his favorite memories of beating Michael Chang, saying:
"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."
Brian Vahaly has also played Andre Agassi on center court in Australia in the course of his career.
