Pride month was first observed in 1970 in the United States and this year's month saw some WTA stars come together for it.
Pride month is generally observed annually in June to celebrate the rights of people belonging to the LGBTQ community. WTA has a long history with athletes who are proud members of the LGBTQ+ community with one of the founding members Billie Jean King part of it.
Some legendary players like Martina Navratilova are also members including current players like Greet Minnen, Alison Van Uytvanck and more recently Daria Kasatkina, and Nadia Podoroska. Some of them have teamed up with other players who are not part of the community to celebrate this year's pride. Ashleigh Barty is one of them and while the Australian is married to a man and expecting a baby later this year, she has always been an ally to the cause.
I do without a doubt knowing how challenging at times it can seem to be comfortable in yourself. However, don’t be afraid to be yourself and don’t be afraid to be confident in who you. Who you are, it’s enough. It’s perfect. It’s imperfect, but it’s enough.
Another fellow player Madison Keys is another dedicated ally to the cause. She highlighted the importance of celebrating all these different people coming together and just living their life as the rest of the world is capable of doing.
Pride Month to me is this massive celebration of all of these different people coming together and celebrating being yourself, being true to yourself. I have been incredibly embraced by the LGBTQ+ community. I have quite a few fans and I think the biggest thing is that I love the ability to just be yourself and be true to yourself.
An actual member of the LGBTQ+ community and noted doubles player Demi Schuurs also took part in the celebrations. She highlighted the importance of having a supportive group of people around you and just the sense of community that goes along with being LBGTQ+.
I think it’s really important to know that you have support from people around you in the LGBTQ community. For me in the beginning, I felt like I was the only one. Of course, that’s not true. You have so many other people to support you and have the same story as you. I think overall it is very nice to have a community like that.
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