“It is now time to be open”: Tennis professional Mika Brunold says “I am gay”, but there are no reactions from the front row of top male players. Homosexuality is obviously still a taboo topic there.
The tennis tour was taking a break when a young Swiss man came into the spotlight: With his coming out, Mika Brunold (21) took a step that goes far beyond sports results. “I’ve been thinking a lot about how to talk about this,” he wrote on Instagram. “And while it hasn’t always been easy for me, hiding it or pretending to be someone I’m not has never been an option. That’s why I feel like now is the time to be open and share with you: I’m gay.”
While openly lesbian players have long been a given in women’s tennis, men’s tennis seems like a sport that remains trapped in old ideas. Brunold is only the second ATP singles player after the Brazilian João Lucas Reis da Silva to take this step. Reis da Silva published photos with his partner in December 2024 and wrote: “I love you very much.”
Brunold formulated his message with remarkable nuance: “Being gay is not just about loving someone of the same gender. It’s also about dealing with things that most people never have to worry about: the fear of not being accepted, the pressure to remain silent, and the feeling of being different. But I’ve grown. I’m proud of the person I am today.”
He got support with his coming out from the Keep Cool agency, which Jonny Fischer from the Swiss comedy duo Divertimento also manages. Fischer once experienced his coming out as a liberation and supported Brunold. “Mika was at our house that Saturday,” he says. “His management, which is also mine, was there. My husband too. I’ve been accompanying Mika for around three years. Last year he told me that in addition to his annual goal in tennis, he also had his private one: to come out in 2025. Now he’s done it.”
“Homosexuality is considered a weakness”
Public reactions to Brunold’s Instagram post were overwhelmingly positive. To date he has received over 56,000 likes, including Viktorija Golubic, Jil Teichmann, Leandro Riedi and Heinz Günthardt from the Swiss tennis scene. Grand Slam winners like Kim Clijsters and Sloane Stephens reacted with heart emojis. But it was also striking that not a single top male player reacted publicly. This silence is a statement in a sport that likes to pretend to be progressive.
A “Pride Day” has been celebrated at the US Open since 2022, pioneer Billie Jean King is celebrated worldwide – but homosexuality remains a taboo topic in men’s tennis, similar to men’s football. Why this discrepancy? Adrian Knecht, the co-president of Cross Pink, the Swiss umbrella organization for gay and bisexual men, says: “This has to do with the fact that our society is still very much male-dominated. The common images of masculinity of performance and strength contradict the stereotype of homosexuality, which is seen as less masculine, as soft and gentle. In short: male homosexuality is seen as weakness. These are all attributes that one does not want to be associated with in top-class sport.”
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These stereotypes have nothing to do with reality, emphasizes Knecht. “Mika Brunold is a tough athlete, otherwise he would never have gotten this far in tennis. But these stereotypes still have an impact in our society. It is less problematic for women to deviate from the heteronorm. Because in return, a top lesbian athlete is granted masculinity. And since performance has traditionally male connotations, this is more easily accepted. Lesbian athletes are less of a threat to the traditional image of masculinity than a top gay athlete.”
Discrimination studies also show these patterns, according to Knecht: “Male homosexuality is seen as a weakness, while female homosexuality is sexualized. A heterosexual man often finds lesbian women attractive, while a gay man is devalued. Homosexual men are particularly affected by physical violence and social exclusion, while lesbian women are more likely to be sexualized or made stupid comments about.”
Public figures have to decide whether they want to keep their homosexuality secret or live openly, says Knecht. “In an ideal world, no one would have to come out. But we’re still a long way from that.”
When asked for an interview by this editorial team, Brunold referred to his management. He replied that he was not making any further statements at the moment. He now wants to focus on his sporting career again. Knecht also hopes that attention will soon return to his tennis: “I hope that his homosexuality is just one of many aspects of how he is perceived.”
Brunold was born with sporting talent. His grandfather Otto Demarmels is an FC Basel legend: the midfield engine thrilled audiences between 1967 and 1982 and won six championship titles. Brunold’s parents were among the top national tennis players. Father Armando even once defeated the young Roger Federer.
“Important as role models”
These days Mika Brunold is preparing for the new season at Swiss Tennis in Biel. He has made continuous progress over the past few years. In the fall he reached rank 289, his best placement. He is currently number 310 and the sixth best Swiss on the ATP tour. After ex-professional Henri Laaksonen looked after him for a few months, he is now looking for a new coach. Trainer Phillip Wallbank is currently working with him.
The fact that Brunold is homosexual was an open secret in Biel. His coming out didn’t make waves in the national performance center, says Alessandro Greco, Head of Competitive Sports at Swiss Tennis: “Mika is a good boy, he’s always friendly and gets along well with everyone. He’s also an asset to us as a person. If he were to be treated with hostility by someone, we would of course intervene. But I can’t imagine that. In terms of sport, he’s still a small step away from being able to qualify for the Grand Slams. If his public… Coming out helps you to be more relaxed and gives you the push you need, all the better.”
Brunold wants his coming out to trigger something on the tennis tour. “I’m sharing this to take a step for myself. And also because I think it’s not talked about enough in sport,” he wrote. For Knecht, he can achieve a lot with his example: “People of public interest, whether they are TV presenters, politicians or athletes, are important as role models. They can encourage young people who are struggling with themselves. This also makes the path easier for others, perhaps even in the local tennis club, where people are not yet as open as they are on the world stage.”
Brunold will find out what the reaction is on the tour when he travels to international tournaments again in January. The American Taylor Fritz told the “Clay” portal in 2022 that he found it strange that there was no openly homosexual player in the top 100: “Myself, my friends and other players on the tour would have no problems with it – it would be completely normal.”
Brian Vahaly, now president of the US Tennis Association, said in a recent interview with the ATP portal: “I never saw the tour as openly homophobic. But it was completely normal to use homophobic language – it was part of the culture, it was how you built camaraderie and made fun of others. Consciously or unconsciously, it leaves something behind. As a gay man, it makes you feel uncomfortable.”
A lot has changed in society since Vahaly’s resignation in 2006. It is to be hoped that Mika Brunold now feels freer – and that this freedom is also reflected in sport. This was the case with the Brazilian Reis da Silva: he halved his ranking from 401 to 204 within a year and is now getting a taste of Grand Slam participation.
This text first appeared in the Swiss “Daily Gazette“, like WELT, is a member of the “Leading European Newspaper Alliance” (LENA).
