Laura Robson joins fans celebrating ‘Glam Slam’ and LGBTQI+ rights at Australian Open

Eurosport expert Laura Robson joined fans celebrating Pride Day at the Australian Open as the ‘Glam Slam’ celebrated LGBTQI+ rights on men’s semi-finals day.

It was a rainbow-themed day in Melbourne, featuring drag queens, roller skates and stilts – and also a tennis tournament for the community.

“Today has been a joy to walk around the grounds. There’s people on roller skates, and it’s the ‘Glam Slam’, the premier event for the LGBTQI+ community in tennis,” said Robson.

“It’s a chill, fun, relaxed atmosphere with drag queens and performers. I’ve been soaking up all this atmosphere. I was tempted to try out the roller skates and the stilts, but probably not with my hip! It’s so much fun around the grounds.

“The Glam Slam is the glamorous event. It’s the LGBTQI+ event that anyone can enter, where they have national and regional tournaments.

“They were playing on Kia Arena this morning, where Billie Jean King presented the trophy. What an amazing moment for everyone who was part of that.”

Robson also recalled wearing a rainbow-coloured hairband at the tournament in 2012 after Margaret Court’s hugely provocative comments on homosexuality and Australia’s same-sex marriage reforms.

Court holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles with 24, but is a divisive figure in tennis and the Australian Open have repeatedly faced calls to rename the show court named in her honour.

“I wore some rainbow hair bands after she [Court] came out to say some pretty inexcusable things in my opinion,” Robson said.

“I think that if you’re passionate about something, you should absolutely stand up for what you believe in, and I was happy to do it 10 years ago, and I’m happy to do it today.”

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