The first openly gay couple to team up in the doubles at Wimbledon have urged more people in the game to express their support for same-sex relationships, saying it would help more players – particularly men – to come out.

Alison van Uytvanck and Greet Minnen, both from Belgium, have been partners off the court for three years, and on Tuesday played at Wimbledon together for the first time.

While the number of women who have come out while playing is relatively small, it includes trailblazers and legends of the game, such as the Wimbledon champions Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Amélie Mauresmo.

This far outstrips progress in the men’s game, where the only known gay player since the second world war has been Brian Vahaly, who only revealed his sexuality in 2017, a decade after retiring.

Speaking on Wednesday, after a straight-sets victory over British pair Katie Swann and Freya Christie, Van Uytvanck, 25, said: “We [would like to] see more people coming forward and saying ‘It’s OK.’ I think people would have more confidence.

“That would be something good, men would appreciate that. More people would come out – it would help to make it easier.”

The 59th-ranked singles player added: “There must be some gay men [actively playing] out there. For me personally, [if I were] a man, it would be more difficult to come out [because of the stereotypes].”

Vahaly said homophobic comments were part of locker-room culture when he was a player, but Van Uytvanck and Minnen said they had had only positive reactions. However, they did admit to adjusting their behaviour while on tour in less tolerant societies. “For sure, we are not going to hold hands if we are in Egypt or somewhere,” said Minnen, ranked 128th in the world.

The 21-year-old added that the reaction from sponsors had been “more positive than negative. We represent something different.” It is a far cry from 1981, when King fought with her attorney and publicist to speak out about her sexuality after being outed when sued by her partner, Marilyn Barnett.

But Van Uytvanck and Minnen suggested fear of losing sponsorship may be a factor in men not revealing their sexuality, given that they would be taking a leap into the unknown.

Last month, Kevin Anderson, the losing finalist in last year’s Wimbledon men’s singles final and vice-chair of the ATP players’ council, expressed hope that one male player coming out “might open the gate for others”. He said that other players could help by being “more welcoming”, adding: “There is definitely a stigma attached to it.”

His conquerer in last year’s final, Novak Djokovic, has said he would welcome a player coming out as “a really courageous move”.

Aside from Vahaly, other known gay male players included Gottfried von Cramm, who lost in the Wimbledon men’s singles final three years in a row (1935 to 1937) – the first two occasions to Fred Perry. He became a target for the Nazis after he rejected their overtures and was arrested for homosexuality. Another was Bill Tilden, who won the Wimbledon singles title three times but famously lost in the 1927 final when leading 6-2, 6-2, 5-1 against Henri Cochet, and 30-love up on his serve.

Van Uytvanck and Minnen said they hoped their own openness could give both sexes the confidence to speak up. Van Uytvanck, who faces the world number one, Ashleigh Barty, in the singles on Thursday, said: “Women are coming out more easily than men. I hope we are something that people can look up to, like a role model to come out.”