Tennis: Van Uytvanck hoping Wimbledon run has positive impact

Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium during a women's singles match, on the sixth day of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. Photo / AP

Alison Van Uytvanck is hoping her run to the second week of Wimbledon can give young gay people more confidence.

The Belgian, who in March said that she was in a relationship with another woman, advanced to the fourth round at the All England Club for the first time with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Anett Kontaveit on Saturday.

The 47th-ranked Van Uytvanck had only won one match in her four previous main-draw appearances at Wimbledon, but announced her presence with a second-round victory over defending champion Garbine Muguruza on Thursday.

"I didn't come out because I wanted to be a role model," Van Uytvanck said. "I'm just happy that I could hopefully get younger people to have confidence to just come out."

Van Uytvanck has reached the second week of a Grand Slam before — she was a quarterfinalist at the French Open in 2015.

However, outside of that tournament and this one, she has only amassed three Grand Slam wins.

Her partner Greet Minnen — who is also a Belgian tennis player, ranked 546th — has been courtside throughout the tournament.

"We're a good team," Van Uytvanck said. "She's also a tennis player. ... So it's really good she understands the game."

There was also a timely element to Van Uytvanck achieving her career-best performance at Wimbledon.

While she was on court, tens of thousands of people had begun participating in a parade celebrating Britain's LGBT community in the city center.

With a fourth-round match against 14th-seeded Daria Kasatkina of Russia to come on Monday, Van Uytvanck wasn't ready for any celebrations.

"Somebody told me it's the Pride (parade) today," Van Uytvanck said with a laugh. "But I will just get some rest."

- AP