EXCLUSIVE: Tennis great Casey Dellacqua praises Josh Cavallo's bravery for coming out
Former tennis pro Casey Dellacqua praised the bravery of Josh Cavallo in the aftermath of his announcement earlier this week that he is gay.
Dellacqua, who came out in 2013 while active on the WTA tour, said that she hoped that in 10 years' time announcements like this would not be newsworthy at all.
Casey Dellacqua interviews Ash Barty at the 2020 Australian Open. Getty
"Obviously those around me knew, but it's a very different picture when you come out to the public and to the media," she said on Nine's Sports Sunday.
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"It was really difficult to be present, playing in the sport, and having to deal with that."
Cavallo made international headlines after publicly announcing he was gay, becoming the only openly out male footballer in any top football division in the world.
"I'm really proud of Josh and to see his authenticity come through and to also represent the LGBTQ+ community as well as he has, has been fantastic," she said.
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Dellacqua has three children with her partner, Amanda Judd, the first of which was born just before the pair publicly came out.
Josh Cavallo playing for Adelaide United against Perth Glory. Getty
"At the US Open I'd missed a bit of time, I just threw it in there at a press conference and said why I hadn't been playing," she said.
"It definitely caused a little bit of a stir but I felt ready to deal with that. It is a lot to take on while you're still trying to play as well."
