Could men’s profession tennis finally have out representation on the ATP tour? Fabien Reboul of France shared a photo of a kiss with fellow Frenchie Maxence Broville in his Instagram story this week. The caption read, “I did not fall in love with you, your love pushed me into it.”
Neither men have commented on the post nor confirmed a romantic relationship yet. But if true, this would be a big step forward for LGBTQ representation on the men’s tour.
We say “if true” because we know male athletes like to dabble in some homo-centric teasing here and there. A couple of weeks ago, Reboul shared a photo on his Instagram with fellow tennis player Hugo Gaston with the caption, “When you BAE is looking at you.” The post is still up.
Reboul, 27, is a doubles player on the ATP tour and currently ranked No. 54. This year, his tournament appearances included the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Broville, 23, plays on the ITF tour and is currently ranked No. 945 in the ATP singles rankings.
It looks like sports journalist Joey Dillon was first to share the news via Twitter:
Looks like we (finally) have LGBTQ+ representation from an active ATP player 🏳️🌈
Fabien Reboul, the doubles World No. 54, posts this IG story with fellow French player, Max Broville.
Note: nothing’s been confirmed from either, but this could be a big step for men’s tennis. pic.twitter.com/YMEoYH4Mqh
— Joey Dillon (@joeydillon) December 5, 2022
Earlier this year, the ATP conducted an LGBTQ+ survey among its players. In a statement regarding the findings of the survey, the ATP noted that while there were “general positive attitudes of players towards gay people,” 75% of the players who participated in the survey acknowledged hearing homophobic slurs from fellow players on tour. The report also included this: “The ATP’s survey and interview data also indicated a strong fear of rejection, isolation from others on tour, and loneliness as being likely barriers to LGBTQ+ players publicly disclosing their sexuality to others.”
Again, we’re not sure if this is “true love” or a case of queerbaiting, but Reboul and Broville could take heart from the outpouring of support the news got on social media. Here’s just a sample:
Hope this is real @atptour 🏳️🌈🌈💖 #Ally https://t.co/3q1Hw0eme0
— LavanyaSingerDinesh🌺 (@LavanyaVocalist) December 6, 2022
More power to them but it’s 2022 and this shouldn’t matter!
— RD🍷🐕🇺🇸🎾✡️ (@sxT2nwise) December 6, 2022
If this is true, this is so so so wonderful ❤️ Hopefully this paves the way for more representation in the ATP 🌈🎾🥳 https://t.co/PJcrLpWSRZ
— lil waffle (@seany_sheep) December 5, 2022
Oh wow. It’s about time! If true, great news.
— Rebecca Winter (@SkyCatch_Her) December 5, 2022
This is amazing !!!! FINALLY !!!! https://t.co/zY9vbpXUNN
— B r i a n 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 (@brian_arbeloa) December 6, 2022
please be real please be real please be real https://t.co/TfljnIncbw
— kieran (@opthiemist) December 5, 2022
This’ll be lovely! The first in professional tennis https://t.co/dN3tlB1GXC
— Idris Shepherd (@WilsonSirdi) December 5, 2022
OMG THE MOMENT WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR 😭😭😭 https://t.co/QRcnOkHpM2
— P🏳️🌈 (@formerpets) December 6, 2022
As a fan of tennis this would be such a welcome to me. I would love some gay representation in the tennis world. I’ve had my suspicions of a few but none have come out yet.