Tennis star Alison Van Uytvanck celebrated winning her match at Wimbledon by kissing her girlfriend who was watching in the stands.

After she qualified for the octafinals at Wimbledon, the Belgian tennis star ran to the stands to give her girlfriend, fellow professional tennis player Greet Minnen, a celebratory kiss.

https://twitter.com/Renestance/status/1015567652272648192

Uytvanck came out earlier this year after winning the Hungarian Ladies Open in Budapest.

“I just feel like we don’t have to be ashamed of this,” she said when asked if she felt like a role model after coming out. “And that’s why I also want to be free. I mean, I’m not sick, I don’t have a disease but I feel like its good that I could come out as a gay person.”

https://twitter.com/P2Hags/status/1015185457112670208

During the Winter Olympics, openly gay freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy made headlines when he kissed his boyfriend on live television. The moment went viral and received extensive praise of LGBT+ activists and allies.

“I didn’t even know that was a televised moment at all, but I think that’s amazing,” Kenworthy said. “That’s something that I wanted at the last Olympics was to share a kiss with my boyfriend at the bottom and it was something that I was too scared to do for myself. And so to be able to do that, to give him a kiss, to have that affection broadcasted for the world is incredible.”

This year was the first time major league sports teams in the United States marched in NYC Pride.

The National Football League and Major League Baseball had floats featured in the famous Pride Parade for the first time ever. Other professional sports organisations had employees and players marching.

Openly gay athletes and ally organisations are essential to creating safe spaces and representation in sports for LGBT+ fans. Public displays of affection between same-sex couples also normalize queer relationships in communal spaces.