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Did These Pro Tennis Players Just Come Out? Here's Why Fans Think Yes

Q: Who was the first gay athlete?

According to ESPN , champion tennis player Bill Tilden didn't hide his sexuality in the 1920s.

@maxence_broville/Instagram

Fabien Reboul and Maxence Broville sparked a frenzy with one Instagram post.

rachelkiley

Tennis fans were alight with excitement this week after it seemed French pro players Fabien Reboul and Maxence Broville may have come out as being in a relationship with one another.

The frenzy started after Reboul shared a picture of what appears to be the two of them kissing to his Instagram stories.

“I did not fall in love with you, your love pushed me to it,” he wrote, tagging Broville.

\u201cLooks like we (finally) have LGBTQ+ representation from an active ATP player \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\n\nFabien Reboul, the doubles World No. 54, posts this IG story with fellow French player, Max Broville.\n\nNote: nothing\u2019s been confirmed from either, but this could be a big step for men\u2019s tennis.\u201d
— Joey Dillon (@Joey Dillon) 1670269037

Some fans immediately took it as confirmation that the two were in a relationship — and it’s not difficult to see why. If a photo of a man and woman had been posted in that pose, with that caption, it would be a foregone conclusion.

But others suggested it was nothing more than a joke and a publicity stunt, both due to the lack of additional commentary from either player and because it comes on the heels of soccer players Kylian Mbappe and Oliver Giroud getting a slew of attention for a celebration on the field that felt “romantic” to many watching.

\u201cIn case you\u2019re still on the fence about whether or not you should become a soccer fan, this DEEPLY romantic celebration between Giroud and Mbapp\u00e9 should be all the convincing you need.\u201d
— Alderman of Flavortown (@Alderman of Flavortown) 1670169226