Russian World Number Two Praises US Open Tennis Pride Day – “If anybody wants to come out, he’s gonna feel safe and secure”

World Number Two tennis player, Russian Daniil Medvedev, has praised the US Open for developing a ‘Pride Day‘ during the tournament and said if a male player did decide to come out on tour then “all the players would be happy for the guy if he does”.

Medvedev,25, was speaking to the media after his second-round victory against Dominik Koepfer and was asked about the Pride Day that the USTA has instigated at this year’s event.

“I think it’s great from US Open this initiative,” Medvedev said.

“I think ATP honestly is doing a good job also especially internally trying to provide info and to just make sure that if anybody wants to come out, he’s gonna feel safe and secure.”

There have been a lot of openly gay female tennis players on the WTA Tour for years, but that’s not been the case on the ATP Tour with no openly gay men in the higher echelon of the game, although there have been a few that have come out after retiring from the game.

“I honestly think from my side, of course, you never know what’s true, but from my side, I think everybody would be super open if somebody would come out on the ATP Tour,” Medvedev continued.

“The other question is: Is there? Are there any gays on the ATP Tour? Again, until somebody comes out, you cannot know unless you’re his best friend and you know what he goes through.

“In my opinion, it’s gonna be just, what’s the word, like all the players would be happy for the guy if he does it. That’s all I can say.”

Rainbow flags flew proudly at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Wednesday as the USTA celebrated and welcomed the LGBTQ+ community to the first-ever Open Pride Day during the main draw of the 2021 US Open.

Held throughout both the day and evening sessions, members of the LGBTQ+ community were engaged, welcomed, heard and accepted in a safe environment for all, including fans, players, coaches, staff and partners.

Open Pride Day is a cornerstone of the USTA’s Diversity and Inclusion strategic platform to truly make tennis open to all in every aspect of the sport and at every level of the organization.

Last Updated on Sep 2, 2021