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History was made at the US Open on Saturday as Daria Kasatkina and Greet Minnen contested the first match at a Grand Slam between two openly gay players. It was the 13th seed who came through 6-3 6-4. But Minnen was still in good spirits after the significant meeting as she said it was a \u201cpleasure\u201d to face Kasatkina.<\/p>\n
Kasatkina and Minnen met in the third round of the US Open, with the Belgian coming through qualifying to reach the main draw. Their clash was contested one one of the smaller show courts – Court 17 – but it carried huge significance.<\/p>\n
It marked the first time at a Grand Slam tournament that two openly gay players had faced off on opposite sides of the net. And Minnen was well aware of the weight that their match carried as she took to Twitter to react after losing in straight sets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a pleasure,\u201d the world No 97 wrote alongside a rainbow emoji. It\u2019s not the first time that Minnen has made history at a Grand Slam tournament either. The 26-year-old was previously in a relationship with fellow openly gay Belgian tennis player Alison Van Uytvanck.<\/p>\n
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Just in <\/strong> Carlos Alcaraz shows respect for Evans after US Open ‘show’ as Federer feat eyed[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n The pair played doubles together at Wimbledon back in 2019 – the first time an openly gay couple joined forces at a Major. After the match, Van Uytvanck said: \u201cWe [would like to] see more people coming forward and saying \u2018It\u2019s okay.\u2019 I think people would have more confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n And just a few weeks later, Minnen and Van Uytvanck played against each other at a WTA Tour event in Karlsruhe, kissing at the net after the 29-year-old emerged victorious. While Minnen has been involved in multiple significant moments for the LGBTQ+ community in tennis, it wasn\u2019t until Saturday that two openly gay players met at a Major tournament.<\/p>\n Back in 1980, Billie Jean King faced Martina Navratilova at a Grand Slam tournament for the final time at Wimbledon. But the match was played a year before the Czech-American publicly came out as gay.<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/4940523.jpg?r=1693693211637\")
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