Nadia Podoroska is back on on the WTA tour, and in a recent interview with Clay spoke publicly for the first time about her relationship with fellow Argentine tennis player Guillermina Naya. Both of them are from Argentina.

Along with Daria Kasatkina of Russia, she’s the second high-profile women’s tennis player to come out in recent months.

Tennis legend Billie Jean King, the first player to be out (or be outed) publicly in women’s tennis, congratulated Podoroska on coming out with a post on Twitter acknowledging her courage.

Clay cites her relationship with Naya as “an important factor” in the former Grand Slam semifinalist’s recovery following a series of injuries that kept her out of competition for a span of nearly ten months, and the difference that made in tackling her anxieties and the mental side of getting back into the rhythm of competition.

“I was able to be in Argentina with my parents,” she told Clay. “That affection and positive energy of being at home helped a lot. Then I went to Spain, I was fine because it seemed like it would be a short time before I could compete again. When I knew it would be longer, my mum was able to visit me. Then my girlfriend came to see me. That’s how it started to happen,” Podoroska explained.

The couple recently celebrated Naya’s birthday on September 27, with Podoroska sharing a series of romantic pictures to her Instagram story, captioning the photos, “Today I celebrate you from afar, but I feel you by my side every day of my life.”

Now ranked #203 in the world, Podoroska also shared with Clay that she hopes to come back even stronger and finally surpass her previous career high at the Roland Garros semifinals in 2020.

“I want to become number one in the world and win a Grand Slam. One of my biggest dreams is that Argentine women’s tennis develop more players and tournaments. South American players have many disadvantages. It is much more complicated to live in that part of the world. That’s why I live in Europe. It would be a dream to help change that disadvantage.”

You can follow Nadia Podoroska’s tennis journey on Instagram at @nadiapodoroska and Guillermina Naya at @guillerminanaya.

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