Racquet: This genre is having a moment. With the success of Heated Rivalry [surely we needn’t say that it’s a show on HBO Max about two hockey players who fall in love—Ed.], gay sports romance is all the rage.
ES: I knew that I didn't want it to be a coming out story; it's a being out story. it's about 20-year-old Austin Hardy. He comes in through qualifiers and he's been out for a few years. He came out in high school. Hasn't been a big deal. But suddenly he breaks a record just by being who he is, and all of that media turns straight to him. I wanted to explore what that must be like for a young man to experience while in one of the fiercest competitions of his life.
Racquet: How did you first decide to write this story?
ES: I was a theater kid growing up and I had zero interest in sports—my sister was the sporty one. Back in the pandemic, in 2021, I was looking for an outlet to work on my mental health. A great way to do that is to work on your physical health, too, so I was looking for a good way for me to do that. I had gone to the US Open for many years—generally for the vibes and the honey deuces. But in 2021 I was there and I just kind of fell in love with the sport in a brand new way. I said to myself, “I enjoy watching it; why don't I try playing it?” So I found some local clinics, started playing, and became obsessed.
Racquet: -welcome to our world-
ES: I wanted to start watching more tennis on TV. As an openly gay man, I want to support all the gay players. But I kept wondering, “Where are they?” As we know, there are a few openly gay women playing, and have been since Billy Jean King, but to my surprise, there were no openly gay men to support and root for. Zero. And I couldn't really get that out of my head. I wanted to know why. I wanted to know what it would be like to be the first.
Racquet: Reading this book, I assumed you'd been a junior player, maybe even played on the tour a little bit. But you came to this late; how did you immerse yourself to that extent in the tennis world?
ES: I wish that I could go back in time and play tennis when I was a kid. Who knows where I would be now, because I love it so much and I think it really takes that passion and that love to stick with it. (Or maybe I wouldn't love it as much as I do now if I played as a kid.) For anyone telling a story outside of their direct knowledge, it takes a whole lot of research. Sometimes that research looks like going to the library and poring over every single text that you can find. And that’s a lot of what I did. I read Andre Agassi's book, Open. Levels of the Game. The Inner Game of Tennis. Winning Ugly. So I consumed every piece of tennis media that I could, including films.
And I think it brings a whole other level to it, too, when you can actually play the sport. I'm not saying I play well, but to be on the court, swing the racket, know what it feels like to hit a winner, to get bageled. I'm sure the things that I'm saying to myself in my head pale in comparison to what your top 100 player is cursing at him- or herself when those things happen. But you can extrapolate.
Also, the podcasts that are out there now on tennis are great; you have commentators and fans, but you also have former pros and current pros who are being extremely generous with their knowledge, and you pick up the terminology. I love Andy Roddick’s
podcast—he's so candid, and he'll say what is on his mind. It’s deeply appreciated.
Racquet: Why, do you think, is sport such a great vehicle for these stories? In some ways, it’s obvious: there just aren’t many out male athletes in tennis, hockey, etc. But does the nature of sport play into it?
ES: It's challenging when you literally are rivals. There's so much more at play than just meeting on a dating app and trying to figure out life together. When you have two athletes who are rivals, who are falling in love, you have to play each other or you see each other on the rink or on the court and then you have to go and share a bed together and come to terms with that after playing each other. It makes great drama and conflict. It's sexy. Sports romances are full of beautiful people who are sexy, and people all over the world appreciate seeing that on the screen.
I am happy and hopeful that in 2026 it is so much easier for people to come out than it was even just a few years ago. It doesn't mean that it's not still hard and scary, and there's a lot about this world right now that is making it slightly scarier too, but we're seeing it more and more, even in tennis. When I wrote this book, we had no actively open openly gay tennis male tennis players and now we have João Lucas Reis da Silva, Mika Brunhold, and wheelchair player Greg Slade. João was the first openly gay male tennis player to compete in the qualifying tournament of a grand slam, and that happened at the US Open last year. I've been following him since he came out and I was like: I will move mountains to be at that match.
So we are seeing these men rise up in tennis and come out and I love to see that. I often wonder what it is about tennis. We've seen it in the other major sports, but tennis is ultimately such a solo sport. Of course you have doubles, but it's basically just you out there most of the time. You don't have the support of a team who can support you and catch you if you fall. I wonder how much of that pressure affects folks deciding whether to share that part of themselves.
Racquet: It’s a heavy burden. Is that one reason mental health plays heavily in The Open Era?
ES: Yes; there have been many athletes who have spoken publicly about their own struggles, especially on the tour, and that was something that I wanted to explore. I wish that it was talked about even more—especially in tennis because it's such a solo sport. You are constantly living in your head after every single point; that can snowball into struggles with your mental health. In The Open Era, Austin's mental health journey is far from perfect, but he is open to talking about it.
It’s also my day job. I work for Mental Health America, which is one of the leading mental health nonprofits in the US. I'm a proud mental health advocate, and I am really glad that it’s a big theme in the books. We all should be talking about it more, especially for athletes where it might be a little bit harder to show “weakness.” Mental health is not a weakness. When you take care of yourself, when you ask for help, when you talk about your mental health, it is a strength and it can help your game.
The Open Era is coming out June 2, 2026.
