Lesbian Tennis Players
Billie Jean King
American King was one, if not the greatest female tennis player of all time, winning 39 Grand Slams.
Always an Advocate for women's rights, she founded the Women's Tennis Association in 1973 and campaigned for equal prize money for sports women.
King was the first lesbian to be 'outed' in the world of tennis. It happened in 1981, when her long-term partner, Marilyn Barnett, sued for Palimony.
She has been in a long term relationship with her partner, Ilana Kloss since 1987.
She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
The Movie "Battle of the Sexes" has just been released, starring Emma Stone as King. It centres on the Bobby Riggs challenge match of 1973.
Martina Navratilova
Czeck Navratilova won more combined singles/doubles Grand Slam titles than any other player, male or female. She won 12 Wimbledon Singles Finals and holds the record, with Serena Williams to win six major single titles without a loss of a set.
Navratilova was outed in 1981, after Billie Jean King, when the New York Daily News confirmed she was in a relationship with Basketball player, Nancy Lieberman. She also had relationships with Rita Mae Brown and Judy Nelson.
Navratilova married her long term partner Julia Lamigova on 15th December 2014.
A strong advocate of LGBT, she was awarded the HRC National Equality Award in 2000.
Sam Stousr
Australian Stosur is most famous for beating Serena Williams in the 2011 US Open Final. She has won 5 Grand Slams so far and is a former No. 1 seed in Doubles and No. 4 in Singles.
Well known for being a lesbian in the Tennis World, Stosur has yet to publicly confirm her sexuality. On the contary, she keeps her personal relationships very private.
.She is rumoured to be dating tennis player Lisa Raymond.
Casey Dellacqua
Dellacqua is a formidable Doubles player, winning 7 WTA Titles and 1 Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Title.
She publicly came out as a lesbian three weeks after her partner, Amanda Judd, gave birth to their first child in 2013.
They had their second child together in April 2017.
Richel Hogenkamp
The Dutch player Hogenkamp biggest win so far was against top seeded Julia Gorges in 2012. Her highest ranking achieved is 100.
Hogenkamp is openly gay and is dating Belgium Soccer Player, Daphne Van Kruistum.
Rennae Stubbs
Australian Stubbs won four Grand Slam doubles and two Grand Slam mixed doubles and she was ranked No. 1 in world Doubles in 2000. She also represented Australia in four successive Olympic games.
Stubbs came out as a lesbian in 2006. She explained:
"I don't hide who I am any more. Everyone in the tennis world pretty much knows who's gay and who's not; the only reason I would like it spoken about publicly more is that I wish everybody would realise that, 'see all those people you admire? Out of 10 or them, four are gay, and I just want you to know that your child can still idolise them'."
Stubbs had a long term relationship with her doubles partner Lisa Raymond. Then with Volleyball player Natalie Cook.
Her longtime partner is international artist, Danielle Morse.
Lisa Raymond
American Raymond won 6 doubles Grand Slam, 5 Mixed Doubles Grand Slams and in 2000, she was ranked world No.1 in doubles.
She also won a Bronze Medal representing America in the 2012 Olympics.
Raymond was outed as a lesbian when Mary Joe Fernandez mentioned that Raymond's and Rennae Stubbs doubles partnership ended when Raymond put an end to their relationship.
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Beatriz 'Gigi' Fernandez
Puerto Rican Fernandez won 17 Grand Slam doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals representing the United States, and reached the World No. 1 ranking in women's doubles.
She previously dated tennis player Conchita Martines but is now married to golfer Jane Geddes.
They have two children.
