Out Tennis Pro Joao Lucas Reis da Silva Wasn't Looking to Make History – But He's Happy with It

Joao Lucas Reis da Silva – the first male pro tennis player to come out while still active – didn't set out to break new ground, but now that he has, he's glad to be a role model.

In what might have been the most nonchalant coming out by a pro athlete since Carl Nassib came out in 2021 with a casual Instagram video, the 24-year-old posted a sweet group of photos of himself with his boyfriend on the social media platform, captioning the collection with a birthday wish and declaring, "I love you so much."

He wasn't thinking about making huge waves in the world of pro athletics. "I just wanted to post a picture with him," Reis da Silva told The New York Times' sports site The Athletic after his history-making post.

"Over a year ago, Reis da Silva fell in love with Gui Sampaio Ricardo, a Brazilian actor and model," The Athletic detailed. "Then Ricardo's birthday rolled around for 2024, and Reis da Silva did what 24-year-olds do."

"I was like, 'Oh my god, it's my boyfriend's birthday. Like happy birthday. I love you.' And then, boom!" Reis da Silva told the site. "It was so normal for me that I didn't think about it."

That's exactly how it should be – and now that he's found himself in the role of trailblazing gay icon, Reis da Silva hasn't hesitated to pick up that torch and become a beacon to closeted queer athletes and LGBTQ+ youth.

Saying that the feedback he's gotten has been "99.9 percent positive," the tennis pro told The Athletic, "I'm really happy that people respect me, that people look at me, admire me maybe."

He also noted that having an out role model as a queer youth himself might have made things easier, The Athletic relayed.

"When I was 16, 15, I had problems accepting myself."

"Maybe if I had had someone playing saying, 'I'm gay, I'm here, I'm competing for the big tournaments,' it would have been easier for me to accept myself and to love myself," Reis da Silva mused. "People have told me that. People told me that they admire me. That I inspire people. So it's a big deal for me and them."

It's also a big deal to straight players who might realize that their queer colleagues are worthy of their respect.

"In the locker rooms and at tournaments I used to hear some things that kind of bothered me," Reis da Silva said. "But when I started to tell everyone that I'm gay and these people knew about it, they stopped saying these things. It's like when they have someone close to them that is gay, they respect them more."

Added the pro player: "Maybe that's a big thing to stop it – if people see someone in the top that is gay, things can change. People might stop saying things they shouldn't that hurt people."

That change might still come to the world at large, but for Reis da Silva it started with himself – and a choice to be authentic.

"I couldn't say too much about myself to my coaches, to my friends," he said of his life before coming out to them five years ago. "When I tried to love myself, that was something different. It changed my life, changed everything, the relationship with my parents, with my coaches."

Out players in other sports have said that freeing themselves from the closet was such a relief it allowed them to up their game. That seems like it might be true of Reis da Silva, as well. After he came out, he triumphed over "Daniel Dutra da Silva 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 to lift the Procopio Cup and earn a spot in the qualifying at the Rio Open, the ATP 500 event he has played the past two years," The Athletic noted. It was, the site said, his first championship win in four years.

"Not a bad few days for the world No. 367," the site added.

Reis da Silva has kept a sense of perspective about the issue.

"I don't have a problem with being remembered as the great gay tennis player," he reflected, "but I don't want to talk about that every time, you know?"