Lesbian Couple Is First Same-Sex Couple to Play Doubles at Wimbledon

Belgium's Alison van Uytvanck and Greet Minnen made history when they played together at the revered tennis tournament.

Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

July 08 2019 2:44 PM EST

May 31 2023 7:13 PM EST

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While queer women like Megan Rapinoe were making a splash at the World Cup this weekend, a lesbian couple made history at Wimbledon becoming the first couple to play doubles together in a grand slam tournament.

Belgian tennis players Alison van Uytvanck and Greet Minnen have been a couple for three years. And while they were in the news at last year's Wimbledon when Uytvanck kissed Minnen after winning a match against reigning champion Garbine Muguruza, this year they became the first same-sex couple to play doubles together at a major tennis tournament.

Uytvanck and Minnen won their match over British players Katie Swann and Freya Christie last week before losing in their second round to Chinese pair Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan, according to Time.

Van Uytvanck, 25, Instagrammed about their historic matches on Friday.

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Following their win against the British players, van Uytvanck and Minnen spoke out on behalf of gay male players, who've generally had a harder time being out in the sport.

"We [would like to] see more people coming forward and saying 'It's OK.' I think people would have more confidence," van Uytvanck said, according to The Guardian. "That would be something good, men would appreciate that. More people would come out -- it would help to make it easier."