The head of the women's professional tennis tour has criticised Ukrainian player Sergiy Stakhovsky for anti-gay comments he reportedly made in an interview.
Stakhovsky, 29, is said to have told an interviewer he would not encourage his daughter to take up tennis because the women's tour contains a high proportion of lesbian players.
According to the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), Stakhovsky is quoted by Ukrainian sports website XSport.ua as saying: "On the WTA tour, almost every other player is a lesbian. Can you imagine - half of them. So I for sure won't send my daughter to play tennis."
Stakhovsky, ranked 49th in the world, is best known for having handed Roger Federer a shock defeat at Wimbledon two years ago.
He is also quoted in the interview as saying the "backbone" of the top 100 in the men's Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) tour features no gay players.
The comments prompted WTA chairman and chief executive Stacey Allaster to respond, saying: " It's sad to think in this day and age there are people who are narrow minded and speak derisively about women based on sexual orientation. It's a sad reflection of old thinking and I'm proud of all our WTA players who are forward thinking, treat everyone equal and reflect life in the 21st century."
Former men's tour star James Blake, an American who now campaigns for the pro-inclusion body Athlete Ally, said: "As a former ATP player and father of two amazing daughters, I would be thrilled if they followed in the footsteps of inspirational greats like Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.
"Stakhovsky's comments are out of line, out of touch, and stand in opposition to the values that tennis taught me. And Stakhovsky is kidding himself if he believes there are no gay tennis players in the (men's) top 100. I hope that if any players inside or outside the top 100 decide to come out, they will be welcomed and supported."
Nine-time Wimbledon champion Navratilova, who came out as lesbian in the 1980s, confronted Stakhovsky over Twitter about the reported remarks.
She wrote: "did you really say this Sergiy? that you don't want your daughter to play tennis because she might turn into a lesbian ? That is how it was translated."
Stakhovsky replied: "I don't want my daughter to play professional tennis from many various reasons . and to be DEADLY HONEST I ever thought of it in that way. Meaning it's the least worrying case for me."
Navratilova wrote back: "what you said was homophobic- perhaps we can speak sometime in the future- thank you".
The pair agreed they would meet to discuss the issue.
Source: PA
