Brian Vahaly has been a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ tennis community, leading the way as a former player who came out after his career. The former World No. 64, who is a member of the USTA’s Board of Directors, is doing everything possible to make more comfortable those potentially struggling with their identity.

“I really want to make it easier for somebody who potentially has my background, who could also be struggling. Maybe [it’s] not someone [who] talks about it, doesn’t understand themselves well enough. I need them to know that it’s going to be okay,” Vahaly said. “I need them to see that there’s a great life on the other end of it because, I don’t know, but I believe had I known that, my approach could have been different and I actually believe I potentially could have achieved more in tennis. That’s hard to sit with, but I don’t want any more kids to sit with that same potential fear [or] concern.”

Vahaly enjoyed plenty of success on court, beating stars including Juan Carlos Ferrero and Fernando Gonzalez. But in his final two seasons on Tour, he began to have thoughts about his sexuality. The American admitted it was “massively terrifying” to acknowledge those thoughts.

“I grew up in a pretty Christian home, so number one, it wasn’t going to be talked about in the early days. Then you think about going on Tour, my entire life was about being the best tennis player I could be, and that was really where my focus was. I knew I wasn’t the same as a lot of my peers and guys that I was competing against, but I didn’t really want to ask myself a lot of those questions,” Vahaly said. “At that point I was dating a girl for a couple of years. It was great. I sort of felt like, ‘Alright, I’m the pro athlete.’ She was an actress at the time, and I was like, ‘This is great. I’m living the dream and I’ve actually built the life that people want, and I’m crushing it.’”

Vahaly believed in order to fully explore that side of himself, he had to completely pull away from the sport. In tennis, he learned to manage his emotions and stress, which presented an opportunity to push his thoughts away while he was a player.

“Unfortunately it took about four or five years to really understand myself better and realise this is the truth and this is who I am and I need to accept it and own it a little bit,” said Vahaly, who played his last match in 2006 due to a shoulder injury. “But it was tough, and I’d never felt there were people in sports I could talk about it with because I just knew it was such a hyper-masculine and intense environment and I knew they weren’t really going to understand.

“Frankly, it’s also tough to be vulnerable with players you’re competing against because we’re out there fighting for the same paycheque. It was something I inevitably came to terms with.”

It was tough for Vahaly to also consider his identity while trying to accomplish his goals on court.

“I didn’t have the height, I didn’t have the background. My serve was terrible, my forehand was terrible, but I knew how to compete really well. I was fortunate to build a career out of it and I was unwilling to risk anything for it,” Vahaly said. “I think afterwards as I started to understand myself a little better and started dating, I don’t know if I really wanted to be the tennis player that was ‘the gay tennis player’.

Since his career, Vahaly has married his husband, Bill Jones, and they are the parents of two twin boys. While his full-time job is outside tennis, he takes seriously his role on the USTA Board of Directors, directly working with the association’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Vahaly was instrumental in the introduction of a Pride event at the US Open. He also makes sure the USTA and its events partner with the right organisations to further LGBTQ+ causes.

“People just want to know that they’re welcomed. How can we continue to build those partnerships at the local level and the national level so for us at the USTA, tennis looks like the United States?” Vahaly said. “It’s a diverse place, it’s a lot of different types of people and we want to make sure that they all feel welcome.”

Since the suspension of the ATP Tour in March, Radu Albot has experienced a significant change in his life.

Just over a month after flying back to his home country, the Moldovan No. 1 welcomed the birth of his first child on 19 April. Due to tightened COVID-19 security measures, the Chisinau native could not join his girlfriend, Doina, in hospital for the birth of his daughter. Instead, Albot discovered the exciting news during a phone call.

“I was at home. The birth was at 7:03am and Doina was not answering my messages or phone calls, so I didn’t know,” said Albot. “I started calling [from 10pm to 3am] but there was no answer. I went to bed and wrote her a message so, when she could, she could read. I put the phone on full volume next to my bed and she called at 8 or 9am, that was when I learned for the first time that she was born.”

One of the first decisions that faced Albot and his girlfriend was the naming of their daughter. The pair had created a shortlist of options prior to the birth and soon selected the name, Adeline.

“We just liked the name. We didn’t decide before, we gave it after the birth,” said Albot. “We had a list of four or five names and we decided to use this one. I think it is a very beautiful name. It sounds very nice and when I say the name, everybody likes it.”

While the pandemic stopped Albot attending Adeline’s birth, it has gifted the 30-year-old extra time to enjoy his new role as a father. During this period of the year, the Moldovan would usually be competing at clay-court events across Europe.

“It is a good time for me [to become a father], because I can be home full-time with the family,” said Albot. “I can help and I can see how the baby is growing. She is doing some new stuff every day.

“She is starting to laugh back and kind of talk to you, so this is an interesting experience. I would not experience this if I were travelling at this moment. This is very good timing, in a way, for me.”

Despite suffering from a lack of sleep, Albot is enjoying the responsibility that comes with his duties as a father. The World No. 67 has learned to take each day in his stride, as he adapts to his new role.

“You have to take care, full-time, of another little person. You want to give the best for that person because they are a part of you. It is your baby,” said Albot. “It is a new life. Every day we are learning something new. We are exploring how it is to be with a baby and we both like it. We are doing a pretty good job.”

Albot may have been ready to compete in Indian Wells in March, but the current ATP Tour suspension has given last year’s Delray Beach champion some added time to fully recover from a pectoral muscle tear he sustained at the start of this year. Now playing pain-free, Albot appears to have already struck a healthy balance between his roles as both an ATP Tour player and a father.

“[Just before the birth], I was doing fitness and tennis. I was practising three or four hours a day,” said Albot. “I didn’t want to break the rhythm of what I was doing before… I still do my routines, my practices and, when I am at home, I can be full-time with the baby.”

Your favourite players are finding plenty of ways to keep busy this week. From Karen Khachanov resuming his training, to Stefanos Tsitsipas working on his trick shots, find out how the world’s best players have been spending their days.

Karen Khachanov was overjoyed at getting clearance to begin practising again.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Finally back on the court! ??? Вернулся на корт. Наконец-то!

A post shared by Karen Khachanov |Карен Хачанов (@karenkhachanov) on Jun 5, 2020 at 5:19am PDT

Rafael Nadal dug into a birthday cake to celebrate turning 34 on 3 June.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

? + @rafaelnadal = ? The players of the #RafaNadalAcademy gave Rafa a special (and sweet?) surprise! ? HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ?

A post shared by Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rafanadalacademy) on Jun 3, 2020 at 3:01am PDT

Novak Djokovic enjoyed an afternoon of picking cherries.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

“Трешња” изазов са Вигором у његовом дворишту. Млад је,шармантан али мало кратак у скоку ?. Cherry picking challenge with Vigor in his backyard. He is young and charming but just a little short with his jump 🙂 more cherries for me! @vigor_9

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) on Jun 4, 2020 at 10:32pm PDT

Stefanos Tsitsipas mastered the trick shot that Pablo Cuevas used against him last year in Estoril.

Taking notes, @PabloCuevas22? ?@StefTsitsipas recreates the amazing trick-shot Cuevas pulled off against him in the Estoril final last year. pic.twitter.com/vQgc3v7u7R

— Mouratoglou Tennis Academy (@MouratoglouAcad) June 5, 2020

Felix Auger-Aliassime called for equality throughout the world.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I truly hope recent events will lead us steps closer to equal treatment around the world ?? . Je m’excuse d’avance que ce message soit seulement en anglais mais c’est dans le but de toucher un plus grand nombre de personnes. Bon dimanche à tous ?

A post shared by Félix Auger-Aliassime (@felixaliassime) on May 31, 2020 at 4:30am PDT

Reilly Opelka shared a throwback photo with close friend and fellow American Taylor Fritz.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

My bruddas

A post shared by Reilly Opelka (@reillyopelka) on Jun 4, 2020 at 1:09pm PDT

Benoit Paire poked fun at himself with his Throwback Thursday post.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

?

A post shared by Benoit Paire (@benpaire) on Jun 4, 2020 at 6:16am PDT

Leander Paes celebrated World Environment Day

The wonders of nature leave us in awe & enchantment! Full of diversity & beauty, Earth is a treasure trove of miracles. Sustaining her resources & preserving them is necessary. Today on #WorldEnvironmentDay let’s do our bit #ForNature & keep its magic alive. ?? pic.twitter.com/Kg0AjlRFur

— Leander Paes (@Leander) June 5, 2020

Rohan Bopanna continued to inspire children at his academy.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Humbling moments like this remind me why I do what I do ❤❤❤. #vidhigupta @rohanbopannatennisacademy #love #tennislove #tennis #academy #bengaluru #bangalore #india

A post shared by Rohan Bopanna (@rohanbopanna0403) on Jun 4, 2020 at 9:03pm PDT

For all their triumphs, even the game’s greatest champions have endured their share of heartache from high-stakes defeats. 

With that in mind, here is our topic for the third Fan Essay Contest, part of the Emirates ATP Kids Hub: If you could re-write history and turn one defeat of your favourite player into a win, what match would that be and why?

Write about your memories of watching the match and how you felt after the defeat. Consider writing an alternative ending, in which your favorite player comes out on top. And perhaps write about how that alternative outcome might have changed the course of your favourite player’s career?

You have until Friday 26 June at 12 noon ET to submit your essay of no more than 500 words to [email protected]. The best three entries will be featured on ATPTour.com.

Fans must be 18 and under to enter. Winning entries will be determined by the ATPTour.com editorial team.

Read the winners from the first essay contest and the second essay contest. 

Entrants are limited to one entry per essay topic, but may submit entries for each new question in the competition. There will be a new topic every three weeks. Essays must be written in English and submitted to [email protected]. Please do not send essays as attachments. Paste the text into the body of an email.

Click here for full terms and conditions.

Check out more great activities in the Emirates ATP Kids Hub.

Hey Kids!

On the tennis court you have to move backwards, forwards, laterally and diagonally to emerge a winner. It also helps to have good eyesight.

You’ll need to combine those traits to succeed in the latest activity to drop in the Emirates ATP Kids Hub. Download the Word Search worksheet below and then highlight 18 hidden words. Play with a friend and time yourself. The person who finds the words first wins!

Download Word Search Worksheet (PDF)

Download Answer Sheet (PDF)

Don’t forget to check out all the great activities in the Emirates ATP Kids Hub

Roger Federer has made plenty of history in his career. But one of the most memorable matches of the past decade was one in which the Swiss star prevented history.

Entering the 2011 Roland Garros semi-finals, Novak Djokovic was flying higher than any player in recent memory. The Serbian had won his first 41 matches of the season, putting him one victory from tying John McEnroe’s 1984 record for most consecutive wins to start a year.

High on confidence, Djokovic was pushing for his first Roland Garros title. Seven of the Serbian’s wins that season came against Federer or Rafael Nadal. But Federer was not intimidated.

“I’ve trained a lot during my whole life for these kinds of matches,” Federer said. “There was an enormous amount of pressure on Novak, and he really played well.”

Djokovic’s problem was that Federer played better. The Swiss snapped a three-match losing skid against Djokovic with a stunning 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory to reach the final in Paris.

Immediately after the match, commentators wondered whether it was the best match of the season. The quality was high from the early going, with few blips. Federer was far more dominant behind his first serve, winning 77 per cent of those points compared to 60 per cent for Djokovic, and he showed patience in longer rallies, not allowing the Serbian’s defence to force him to go for too much early in rallies.

Federer saved two set points in the 70-minute opening set, eventually taking it in a tie-break. The Swiss then swiftly opened up a 4-1 advantage in the second set as he took a commanding lead against the Serbian, whose perfect season was slipping away.

Djokovic faced the daunting task of trying to become the first player in 175 attempts to rally from two sets down against Federer. But the World No. 2 made a good start in that direction, immediately breaking in the third set and cruising through the rest of the set. After Federer framed a ball into the stands while facing break point at 4-4 in the fourth set, Djokovic was a hold away from sending the match to a decider.

Federer, the 2009 champion, battled hard to avoid losing his lead, breaking back with an inside-in forehand winner. Although Djokovic has proven himself one of the best returners of all-time, Federer’s serve was too strong under pressure in the ensuing tie-break, and he hit his 18th ace to clinch his third Top 10 win of the year.

“I was just trying to put in a good match and get to the French Open final, which I’m obviously happy I was able to do,” Federer said. “It almost feels like I’ve won the tournament, which is not the case.”

There was plenty of anticipation for a potential Djokovic-Nadal showdown for the Coupe des Mousquetaires, especially considering the Serbian had beaten the Spaniard twice during that clay-court season alone. Djokovic was poised to try to add another blemish to Nadal’s sterling 44-1 record at the Slam. But instead it was Federer who earned a shot at the Spaniard.

”It was a great tournament. It was the best five months of my life, my tennis career,” said Djokovic, who went on to win the next three Grand Slams. ”I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible period. It had to end somewhere. I knew it [was] coming.”

Federer had a chance to win his second Roland Garros trophy in three years. Nadal, however, stopped him in four sets. 

Few players are able to match the physicality Rafael Nadal brings to the court, forget about exceeding it. But, when Dominic Thiem is at his best, the Austrian has been able to do just that, creating a captivating ATP Head2Head rivalry.

“A player like Dominic has a lot of potential,” Nadal said after losing against Thiem at the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open. “Whenever he plays really well, it’s very difficult to stop him.”

When both men’s games are clicking simultaneously, fans are in for jaw-dropping tennis, as the stars unleash massive groundstrokes at one another without hesitation. Nadal leads Thiem 9-5 in their series. 

“If you want to have a chance against him, one of the all-time greats, everything needs to work in your game,” Thiem said after beating Nadal in this year’s Australian Open quarter-finals.

Thiem has impressed with his performance against Nadal on clay over the years. The Austrian beat the Spaniard once a year from 2016-19.

Watch Highlights: Thiem’s Last Clay Win vs. Nadal

“I’m always super proud if I beat him, because he’s the best player ever on this surface,” Thiem said. “It’s always very special to beat him… on clay.”

Nadal, however, has maintained his throne at Roland Garros. The 19-time Grand Slam champion has beaten Thiem in the Paris final in each of the past two years, doing so in straight sets in 2018 and four sets in 2019. Nadal has admitted it hasn’t been easy against the Austrian, against whom he feels under pressure when Thiem is able to take control of rallies early.

“He [was] the most difficult opponent,” Nadal said after last year’s championship. “[This] has been the most difficult match.”

The most memorable clash of the pair’s 14 previous meetings came in the quarter-finals of the 2018 US Open. Nadal battled past Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) in an epic four-hour, 49-minute marathon that ended at 2:04 a.m.

Thiem delivered an onslaught of 74 winners and won the first 6-0 set against Nadal at the US Open in 14 years (Andy Roddick, 2004). But Nadal scratched and clawed, triumphing despite winning six fewer points. Thiem was close that evening in Flushing Meadows, but not close enough.

“It’s going to be stuck in my mind forever,” Thiem said. “I’m going to remember this match, for sure. Tennis is cruel sometimes, because I think this match didn’t really deserve a loser. But there has to be one.

Nadal is more than seven years older than Thiem, so they are from different generations. But the Spaniard has great respect for how the 26-year-old carries himself on and off the court.

“He played great matches against me in the past, too. He played great-quality tennis. I think we like each other in terms of character. I like his attitude,” Nadal said in Melbourne this year, before cracking a smile. “Probably he likes mine, too.”

Rafael Nadal has had Roger Federer’s number on clay throughout their legendary ATP Head2Head series, winning 14 of their 16 meetings on the surface. Nowhere has the Spaniard been more superior on clay than at Roland Garros, where the lefty has won all six of their clashes.

Nadal has won 18 of his 22 sets at the clay-court major against one of his greatest rivals. Despite the record, Federer never shied away from the challenge, saying before the 2019 semi-finals: “I’m very happy to play Rafa… Because if you want to do or achieve something on the clay, inevitably, at some stage, you will go through Rafa, because he’s that strong and he will be there.” 

More On Roger vs Rafa
* Federer & Nadal’s 10 Best Quotes About Each Other
* Roger vs. Rafa: The Rivalry

ATPTour.com relives all six of their meetings at Roland Garros:

2019 Roland Garros semi-finals, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 63 64 62
Nadal and Federer met at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2017 Australian Open final, in which Federer rallied from down a break in the fifth set to triumph. Nadal, at this point an 11-time Roland Garros champion, was once again the tournament favourite leading into their semi-final showdown, which was their first meeting at the clay-court Slam in eight years. 

Federer was competing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2015, and he had done well in his return to the tournament. The Swiss won his first four matches in straight sets before dismissing 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka in four. He had nothing to lose against Nadal. 

But the second seed was ruthless in tough weather conditions, dismissing Federer 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and 25 minutes to move to 6-0 in their Roland Garros series. The 2009 champion struggled to find his range from the baseline, frequently mis-hitting balls early in the match to set the tone. Nadal did well to keep Federer pushed back, landing his heavy topspin strokes close to the baseline to prevent the Swiss from stepping into the court and finding his timing.

“The conditions out there today [were] so hard, so [it was] difficult to manage,” said Nadal, who went on to beat Dominic Thiem for his 12th Roland Garros title. “It was a day to just focus, accept all the adversity, and just be focused on [being] positive all the time. That’s what I tried to do.”  

Read 2019 Match Report

2011 Roland Garros final, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 75 76(3) 57 61
Nadal and Federer contested a Grand Slam final for the eighth time when they met in the Roland Garros final, and it was Nadal who prevailed as he finished strongly to end Federer’s bid for a second title at the clay-court major in three hours and 40 minutes. The Spaniard had also beaten Federer in the Roland Garros final from 2006-2008.

Having ended Novak Djokovic’s 41-match unbeaten run in 2011 in the semi-finals, Federer hoped his top form would be enough to dethrone Nadal in Paris and made a strong start as he raced to a 5-2 lead. The Swiss squandered a set point chance in the eighth game, though, and it sparked the Nadal comeback as the Spaniard reeled off five straight games to take the opener.

Nadal capitalised on his momentum to break early in the second set, and was serving for the set at 5-4, deuce, when a heavy shower suspended play for 10 minutes. Upon resumption Federer broke back, but Nadal regained his composure in the tie-break to take a commanding two-set lead.

The top-seeded Nadal broke through in the sixth game of the third set, but had no chance to build on his lead as the resilient Federer immediately struck back with a service break to love. The Swiss then delighted the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd, and stunned Nadal, as he won four of the next five games to claw his way back into the match.

The key stage in the fourth set came in the opening game as Federer squandered a 0/40 opportunity on Nadal’s serve. From there the tide swiftly turned in Nadal’s favour as he broke serve twice, dominating the baseline rallies as he raced through to claim victory.

2008 Roland Garros final, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 61 63 60
After contesting closely fought battles in the finals of Monte-Carlo and Hamburg in the lead up to Roland Garros, much was expected when Roger Federer stepped up to face Rafael Nadal in their 17th career meeting. However the match proved to be the most one-sided encounter between the pair.

Nadal enjoyed the better start in the match, breaking Federer’s serve in the first game courtesy of one of an eventual 49 unforced errors from the Swiss’ racquet. From there, Nadal did not look back and went on to break the Federer serve twice more to seal the set 6-1 as Federer drifted a forehand volley long.

After fighting back from an early break down in the second set, Federer had the chance to gain a key break though when presented with a break point chance in the seventh game. However, he was denied and, after failing to take his opportunities, the Swiss No. 1 was immediately under pressure and conceded his own serve as another backhand pass from Nadal was just out of his reach. Nadal was quick to extend his lead, closing out the set 6-3 as Federer returned serve long.

The third set lasted just 27 minutes as Nadal broke serve three times to secure the match victory after just one hour and 48 minutes, and hand Federer his first bagel set since June 1999, as the Swiss fired a forehand long, prompting muted celebrations from Nadal after the comfortable win.

Read: Federer Puts Up ‘Help Wanted’ Sign In Paris Ahead Of Nadal Clash

2007 Roland Garros final, Paris, clay, Nadal d Federer 63 46 63 64
The stakes were higher than ever when Federer and Nadal clashed in the 2007 Roland Garros final. For the second consecutive year Federer was attempting to become just the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam titles and to be just the third man to hold all four majors at the same time. Nadal was looking to join Bjorn Borg as the only player to win three consecutive Roland Garros crowns.

Earlier in the clay swing, Nadal had beaten Federer in the Monte-Carlo final but Federer avenged that defeat with his first clay court victory over Nadal in the Hamburg final.

Federer took the fight to Nadal early, earning 10 break point chances over three consecutive Nadal service games in the first set. But the tough Spaniard refused to buckle and scrapped to win the first set. Although Federer rebounded to win the second set, Nadal’s ability to fight off 16 of 17 break point opportunities in the match proved the telling factor.

Federer returned more aggressively – particularly on the backhand – to try to stop Nadal from controlling points, but, as in past meetings, the Spaniard’s high kicking left-handed forehands into his backhand were too much for Federer to handle.

2006 Roland Garros final, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 16 61 64 76(4)
Playing in his first Roland Garros title match, Federer was attempting to become the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four straight Grand Slam events, and just the third player in history to achieve the feat.

Nadal was looking to become the youngest player to defend the Roland Garros title since Bjorn Borg in 1974-75. The Spaniard also was trying to improve his perfect record at Roland Garros to 14-0, his clay court winning streak to 60 matches and to notch his 100th career clay court win.

Federer broke Nadal twice in the first set to race to a 5-0 lead. But then Nadal began to dominate the match with his crushing forehand and Federer struggled with many unforced backhand errors.

Nadal did not drop serve again until he tried to close out the match at 5-4 in the fourth set. But he clinched the match soon after in the tie-break. Nadal won his 14th consecutive final (second only in the Open Era to Federer’s mark of 24 straight finals won).

Read Nadal On Facing Federer: ‘We Shared The Most Important Moments’

2005 Roland Garros semi-final, Paris, clay, Nadal d. Federer 63 46 64 63
Theirs was the most eagerly awaited match of the tournament. Federer was already No. 1 in the world and fast-rising Nadal was at No. 5.

Nadal came to Roland Garros on the heels of clay-court titles in Monte-Carlo in April (d. Coria) and in Rome in May (d. Coria again). Federer, meanwhile, was fresh off of his second straight clay-court crown in Hamburg in May (d. Gasquet).

Federer evened the score by winning the second set, but after that his form fell as the wet and dark conditions set in. Nadal kept the pressure on, ousting Federer in four sets on the way to winning the Roland Garros title on debut (d. Puerta in the final).