Women in sport still face a lot of stigma and abuse. One reason for this is the stigma and abuse that women face in general, but added to that is the fact that women in sport are often pegged as lesbians. You’d like to think that women kicking a ball, swinging a bat or hitting a target wouldn’t be so political – yet here we are, still trapped in the patriarchy’s locker room, engulfed in Lynx Africa fumes.

Recently, however, queer female athletes have proudly come to the fore. This week, Belgian tennis players Alison van Uytvanck and Greet Minnen became the first IRL couple to team up at Wimbledon, and called for more support in the sport for same-sex couples – in particular, saying it would help male players to come out.

We have also had the pleasure of WNBA pro-basketball player Sue Bird’s essay on her girlfriend, Megan Rapinoe, AKA the star of the US women’s football team. I urge you all to read it, not only because Bird is a brilliant writer, but because it defines #relationshipgoals such as these: “My girlfriend … was putting American soccer, women’s sports, equal pay, gay pride and TRUE LOVE on her back, all at once.”

As well as scoring two crucial goals against hosts France, Rapinoe has also managed to annoy Donald Trump and Piers Morgan, simply by being herself – which means that she is doing absolutely everything right (though those two bozos do usually come as a pair). To give you an idea of how successful this Women’s World Cup has been, the semi-final between the US and England was the most watched British broadcast this year.

Amélie Mauresmo after winning Wimbledon in 2006. Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PA

The past few months have also seen a defiant Caster Semenya battling the IAAF to continue competing, alongside posting adorable pictures with her wife.

Of course, there have always been queer female athletes (because there have always been queer women). The difference is that in the past, many of them came out only towards the end of their careers, or after they had ended, because of the threat of bigotry, lost sponsorship and even personal safety. Billie Jean-King, for instance, said she “lost all endorsements in 24 hours” when outed towards the end of her career.

Amélie Mauresmo did come out in 2006 at the height of her fame, the year she won two Grand Slams and was No 1 in the world rankings. The French player said she never regretted it, despite being called “half a man” by Martina Hingis.

Since then, there has been huge progress for gay women in professional sport. In 2014, while still playing, the former England international and current Manchester United Women’s coach, Casey Stoney, came out. And in 2016, Martina Navratilova proposed to her girlfriend on the big screen at the US Open.

There is, however, still much more progress to be made, and even more so in men’s sports. But having just arranged to watch England’s third place play-off in a Soho pub this Saturday, slap-bang in the middle of London’s Pride parade, it is clear the times are changing. Get in.

• This article was amended on 5 July to remove a reference to Martina Navratilova.