ATP Tour launches education partnership with You Can Play, hoping to increase LGBTQ+ inclusion in men's tennis

LONDON (AP) —The ATP Tour is teaming up with You Can Play, a group working to increase LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports, after 75% of players who participated in a survey by the men’s tennis tour said they have heard other players use homophobic slurs.

The tour announced Friday that it is launching a multi-year education partnership with You Can Play, which has worked with the NHL, MLS and NASCAR.

The ATP’s anonymous online survey was distributed to hundreds of players last year; 65 responded. Some also agreed to be interviewed.

The ATP said its findings “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.” In addition, players reported that the prevalence of homophobic language on tour—at a rate consistent with other major men's sports, according to the ATP—has resulted in "a negative environment for everyone".

There are no openly gay athletes in men's tennis currently.

The tour also said a majority of participants “were supportive of ATP taking action to combat homophobia.”

“Tennis is one of the world’s most global and diverse sports,” said ATP CEO Massimo Calvelli. “Through ATP Serves, it’s our goal to ensure the culture of tennis is as inclusive and welcoming as possible. This requires us to take an honest look at ourselves and continue asking the right questions.

“Our LGBTQ+ survey showed overwhelming support amongst ATP players for greater action in this space, and identified clear areas where we can be doing better.

“We would like to thank everybody for their contributions to this process so far and, together with You Can Play, look forward to making meaningful progress in years to come.”

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports