Belgian tennis star Alison Van Uytvanck announced her retirement from professional tennis this month after a long career with a few singles and doubles titles, a French Open quarterfinal, and Wimbledon’s first same-sex kiss.
Though her singles ranking only peaked at 37 (in 2018), the all-court player with dangerous touch earned high-profile wins over Grand Slam champions like Naomi Osaka, Venus Williams, Aryna Sabalenka, Petra Kvitova, Samantha Stosur, 2024 Wimbledon champ Barbora Krejcikova, and current No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Van Uytvanck’s singles titles included victories in Quebec, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and twice in Hungary. Her second title in Budapest featured a come-from-behind final win against future Wimbledon winner Markéta Vondroušová after she had previously saved five match points in her semifinal.
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Though her playing career might be described as that of a dangerous journeywoman with an impressive collection of A-list wins, the redhead was one of the few out WTA pros, along with Russian Daria Kasatkina, willing to do more than own her identity, but openly discuss it in interviews, blogs and through some welcome PDA. Her openness about her sexuality, particularly in a sport like tennis, where LGBTQ+ representation is still a work in progress, was a significant step forward.
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In 2021, Van Uytvanck, 30, ended a long-term relationship with fellow Belgian pro Greet Minnen. During their five years together, they blogged about their lives as a couple on the WTA tour. In 2018, they gained worldwide attention with a Center Court kiss, with Minnen leaning in from the stands for a smooch after Van Uytvanck upset defending champion Garbine Mugaruza.
The following year, they became the first open same-sex couple to play doubles together at Wimbledon. Speaking for the pair after the team’s first doubles win, Van Uytvanck told the Guardian, “We [would like to] see more people coming forward and saying ‘It’s OK.’ I think people would have more confidence.”
At the time, the Belgian pro admitted that gay ATP players faced still greater discrimination. “There must be some gay men [actively playing] out there. For me personally, [if I were] a man, it would be more difficult to come out” because of the stereotypes, Van Uytvanck said.
Outsports covered Van Uytvanck’s coming out in 2018 when she discussed her relationship with Minnen in a Belgian TV interview. At the time, she discussed being bullied as a lesbian teen and her campaign to fight similar situations as an out athlete. “Now I go to the kids and say ‘no bullying’ and I confront those who made my life so difficult with my success so they can understand the pain I had to go through,” she said.
Looking Ahead
After being off the tour with injuries for much of 2023, Van Uytvanck optimized her break to wed Emilie Vermeiren, her partner since 2022, during Wimbledon Finals weekend.
The happy couple signed their Instagram post, “All our love, Mrs. & Mrs. Van Uytvanck-Vermeiren.”
