World's top 5 lesbian tennis players

New Delhi: Tennis is one of the world's most gay-friendly sports. Many former champions have been known to opt for same-sex relationships. In some cases, sportsmen have used this for self-promotion too. However some very successful female tennis players have came out and declared about their same-sex orientation Here is a list of five women tennis players who are know as lesbians: 1) Martina Navratilova: Born October 18, 1956 is a retired Czech American tennis player Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 major mixed doubles titles. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times. She and Billie Jean King each won 20 Wimbledon titles, an all-time record. Navratilova is one of just three women to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles (called the Grand Slam "boxed set"). Her lesbianism was considered a contrast to the image women's tennis was trying to display. Martina has also been famous for expensive break-ups with her girlfriends. She settled with one of her ex-lovers Toni Layton for an estimated $3 million in 2010. Long back, in 1991, Navratilova had split with Judy Nelson after a long relationship of eight years and paid a rumored $3.5 million. Presently, Navratilova is involved with various charities that benefit gay and lesbian rights. 2) Billie Jean King: Born on November 22, 1943, Billie Jean King is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam titles, including 12 singles, 16 women's doubles, and 11 mixed doubles titlesKing is an advocate for sexual equality. Then 29 years old, King won the Battle of the Sexes tennis match against the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs in 1973, and was the founder of the Women's Tennis Association, World TeamTennis (with former husband Larry King), and the Women's Sports Foundation.In the late 1960s King began to have affairs with women. She had a natural marriage with Larry King, but their relationship was extremely distant as her career blossomed.She had kept her attraction towards and relationships with women hidden for long. In 1981, she reluctantly came out a lesbian when Marilyn Barnett (an ex-lover and personal secretary), ousted her by filing a very public palimony suit. Although King admitted the affair to the world, she called it a “mistake” and tried to hide behind her marriage.Later King said that coming out publicly as a lesbian was her “longest, hardest journey”. Presently she has become an international leader in seeking recognition and equal rights for gays and lesbians.The main reason, she admitted, she didn't come out publicly was the fear of losing all sponsors. 3) Gigi Fernandez: Born February 22, 1964, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gigi Fernandez is a former professional tennis player, the first female athlete from her native Puerto Rico to turn professional, the first Puerto Rican woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal and the first to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Fernández won 17 Grand Slam doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals representing the United States, and reached the World No. 1 ranking in women's doubles. She reached a career high singles ranking of 17 in 1991. After retiring from the professional tour in 1997 at the age of 33, Fernández is now a tennis coach and entrepreneur.Although Fernandez came out publicly as being a lesbian at a time her career was at its peak, her globe-trotting career made it extremely difficult for her to sustain a long-term relationship. Thus she waited. till the year she retired. She met Jane Geddes, four years older and an 11-time winner on the LPGA tour. Presently the couple are happy parents to two children. 4) Lisa Raymond: Born August 10, 1973, Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. Raymond has 11 Grand Slam titles to her name: 6 in women's doubles and 5 in mixed doubles. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles. Her career high singles ranking was fifteenth in October 1997.Earning more than US$9 million in prize money in her career, Raymond has reached the quarterfinals in singles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon. Raymond has beaten players like Venus Williams, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis. She also is one of the few players to win a career Grand Slam in doubles. She is also a mixed partner of Mike Bryan, with whom she won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, her lone medal to date.Regarded as one of the best doubles and mixed-doubles player in the present day women's tennis, Raymond has 11 Grand Slam titles to her name. Raymond openly acknowledges her lesbianism, and was in a long relationship with her former doubles partner Rennae Stubbs.According to Raymond, “I came out because I knew that there would be life after tennis, and being gay and playing tennis is not a big deal. There have been a lot of women in sports that have come out, and it's not seen as anything ‘wow'.” 5) Rennae Stubbs: Born 26 March 1971 in Sydney, Renee Stubbs is a retired Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.Stubbs has recorded more doubles triumphs than any other Australian woman—60 from 1992 to the conclusion of the 2010 WTA Tour. She also won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles with male partners. In 2001, Stubbs won the season-ending WTA Championships with regular partner Lisa Raymond and the pair were named ITF World Champions.Stubbs is the longest-serving member of the Australia Fed Cup team, having played for 17 years since 1992. She retired after the 2011 Fed Cup tie with Italy.Rennae Stubbs has a reputation for being frank and honest about her sexuality. She admits getting positive reinforcement and positive comments from fans after she came out. She was in a long term relationship with former doubles partner Lisa Raymond.Rennae, once in an interview, said, “I'd just like to be a little bit more open about it now because I want some 16-year-old girl out there to think, ‘It's OK'. "All it is somebody loving somebody. And it would be nice if everybody could just accept that it's not a choice, this is who you are. You would never, ever choose this, choose to be gay. It's such a difficult thing to deal with and coming out to people and talking about it, and coming out to your family.”