Addressing the truthful comments he made during Wimbledon, Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky said on 3 September that he’s certain there are no closeted gay men in the top 100, adding that he believes there are "a lot" of lesbian players on the women’s tour.
"I think it’s a lot, yes. I don’t have a problem with it," though, Stakhovsky said when asked about his previous comments regarding lesbians on the WTA. Stakovsky spoke in an interview with a handful of media outlets a day before he was scheduled to play Jo-Wilifried Tsonga of France in the third round of the U.S. Open.
"If there are 100 guys, or 128 guys, I mean, if somebody’s different, he falls out, doesn’t he?" said Stakhovsky, ranked No. 60 in the world. “In a locker room, where half the guys walking in towels are naked, yeah, you definitely would see something different, no?”
Stakhovsky was quoted by a Ukrainian media outlet in July as saying that half of the women on the WTA were lesbians, and that he would never want his future daughters to play tennis because of it. He said Thursday those quotes were misconstrued, but maintained his stance of lesbians in tennis.
“Through my years, I have a lot of great relationship with WTA players. So I do know how the WTA locker room is like,” he said, explaining that he is also friends with many male coaches on the WTA, who have told him about lesbians on tour. "It’s not like we’re going to mistreat somebody in the locker room, it doesn’t matter [if that] person is a homosexual or not to me. We live in a world where everybody has the right to be what he wants to be. Nobody can say anything to me, it’s my life, I can do whatever I want with it.”
He continued: “For me, I don’t think the community in tennis would discriminate a gay if he would turn up.”
The reported comments in July were especially revealing because Stakhovksy, 29, who has won four career titles and has been ranked as high as world No. 31, has confirmed what many suspected, but are too conscious of offending Political Correction (PC) police.
Stakhovsky is also part of the ATP’s Player Council. The Council is comprised of 12 individuals, including president Eric Butorac, an American doubles player. It also includes John Isner, Stan Wawrinka, Gilles Simon and Kevin Anderson.
Despite attempts by PC police to silence the issue, Stakhovsky, is insistent that there is no gay men’s tennis player – at least among the top 128.
“I believe you have that feeling” if someone is gay, he said last 3 September. “I think that players would sense something. Players talk to each other, we have a group community, everybody talks to everybody. Which means somehow it would fall out. Some stories, rumors would fall out.”
“At the moment right now it’s kind of nonsense to say that there are,” he continued. “We’re spending a lot of time in the same locker room, you kind of have a feeling if somebody is or if they’re not.”
"I think it’s a lot, yes. I don’t have a problem with it," though, Stakhovsky said when asked about his previous comments regarding lesbians on the WTA. Stakovsky spoke in an interview with a handful of media outlets a day before he was scheduled to play Jo-Wilifried Tsonga of France in the third round of the U.S. Open.
"If there are 100 guys, or 128 guys, I mean, if somebody’s different, he falls out, doesn’t he?" said Stakhovsky, ranked No. 60 in the world. “In a locker room, where half the guys walking in towels are naked, yeah, you definitely would see something different, no?”
Stakhovsky was quoted by a Ukrainian media outlet in July as saying that half of the women on the WTA were lesbians, and that he would never want his future daughters to play tennis because of it. He said Thursday those quotes were misconstrued, but maintained his stance of lesbians in tennis.
“Through my years, I have a lot of great relationship with WTA players. So I do know how the WTA locker room is like,” he said, explaining that he is also friends with many male coaches on the WTA, who have told him about lesbians on tour. "It’s not like we’re going to mistreat somebody in the locker room, it doesn’t matter [if that] person is a homosexual or not to me. We live in a world where everybody has the right to be what he wants to be. Nobody can say anything to me, it’s my life, I can do whatever I want with it.”
He continued: “For me, I don’t think the community in tennis would discriminate a gay if he would turn up.”
The reported comments in July were especially revealing because Stakhovksy, 29, who has won four career titles and has been ranked as high as world No. 31, has confirmed what many suspected, but are too conscious of offending Political Correction (PC) police.
Stakhovsky is also part of the ATP’s Player Council. The Council is comprised of 12 individuals, including president Eric Butorac, an American doubles player. It also includes John Isner, Stan Wawrinka, Gilles Simon and Kevin Anderson.
Despite attempts by PC police to silence the issue, Stakhovsky, is insistent that there is no gay men’s tennis player – at least among the top 128.
“I believe you have that feeling” if someone is gay, he said last 3 September. “I think that players would sense something. Players talk to each other, we have a group community, everybody talks to everybody. Which means somehow it would fall out. Some stories, rumors would fall out.”
“At the moment right now it’s kind of nonsense to say that there are,” he continued. “We’re spending a lot of time in the same locker room, you kind of have a feeling if somebody is or if they’re not.”