Tennis player Nadia Podoroska comes out as queer and reveals she’s dating fellow pro
Nadia Podoroska has come out. (Nadia Podoroska)
Argentina tennis player Nadia Podoroska has come out as queer in a post revealing her partner as fellow tennis player Guillermina Naya.
Podoroska shared an Instagram post on Naya’s 26th birthday, on 27 September, with pictures of them hugging and kissing.
Her caption read “Today I celebrate you from afar, but I feel you by my side every day of my life.”
Podoroska revealed that the two athletes have been a couple for several months already, with their relationship starting when Podoroska took a ten-month break to recover from injuries after the 2021 US Open.
She said: “From September to December I was able to be in Argentina with my parents. That affection and positive energy of being at home helped a lot. Then I went to Spain, I was fine because it seemed like it would be a short time before I could compete again.
“When I knew it would be longer, my mum was able to visit me. Then my girlfriend came to see me. That’s how it started to happen.”
The couple received messages of support from across the world, including one from American sportswoman Billie Jean King, who was one of the first professional women’s athletes to come out as gay in 1981.
Thank you very much, BJK.
I respect you for everything you represent to us. You are a true role model in the fight for equality in sport and beyond sport 🏳️🌈 https://t.co/8QE3kKXfWg
— Nadia Podoroska (@nadiapodoroska) October 6, 2022
King wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations to WTA player Nadia Podoroska on her announcement. Living authentically takes such courage, but it is always worth it.”
Podoroska replied: “Thank you very much, BJK.
“I respect you for everything you represent to us. You are a true role model in the fight for equality in sport and beyond sport.”
Podoroska, 25, is ranked 203 in the world, and reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2020.
This announcement makes her the third professional tennis player to come out this year.
Daria Kasatkina, Russia’s top ranked female tennis player, came out as gay in July this year. (Carmen Mandato/Getty)
In July Russian tennis star Daria Kasatkina revealed her relationship with Olympic figure skater Natalia Zabiiako via Instagram.
Kasatkina has been critical of her nation’s anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and laws, and has discussed how hard it was to keep her identity hidden, saying: “Living in the closet is impossible.”
“Not for the long run, no. It is too hard. It is pointless, you will be completely focused on that until you choose to come out. Of course, it is up to you to decide how to do it and how much you tell.
“Living in peace with yourself is the only thing that matters, and f**k everyone else.”
