Australian Football player Jason Akermanis, who's always been known for his outspokenness, has penned an article wondering why there aren't more openly gay players.

"Coming out" for a player has many potential reactions. Some good, some bad. On the field, players are called "poofters", or words to that effect, all the time.

You could imagine what might happen if there actually was one. I am sure the vilification rules would come into play.

What about the good things that might happen? The person could be the new pin-up boy and the opportunities for business could be massive. And I mean massive."

Akermanis actually did play with an openly gay teammate, and he talks about the reaction it received:

"I also remember playing with a guy at my old club, Mayne, in Brisbane. He was tough, and one of the nicest guys on the team. His partner would come and sit and watch him play.

The guys never treated him any differently - until it was shower time. I was in there after one match and it was full of guys talking and carrying on.

Anyway, I turned around to see everyone grabbing their towels and heading out of the shower area. Then I realised who had walked in. The guy in question laughed and said it happened all the time."

Tennis player Francisco Rodriguez

So why aren't there more openly gay male athletes? A gay player in a team sport (like the AFL) would certainly have a rough time of it, but what about a singular sport, like tennis? There have been rumours about certain players, but unlike their female counterparts, no high profile male player has ever come out.

Last month, Out.com ran a coming-out interview with Francisco Rodriguez, a player from Paraguay who had some interesting things to say about being gay in professional tennis.

Read about Francisco's experiences, and learn why one tennis commentator believes there should be a "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the locker room, after the break.

It happens every year at this time. From the end of May til the middle of September, everything else becomes meaningless, and my entire being is focused on one thing - tennis.

What is it about tennis that makes it arguably the most popular spectator sport for gay men? I don't have any statistics to back that up, but from personal experience, most of the gay men I've known (even the ones who generally detest watching sports) follow tennis. For me, I think it comes down to the personalities and the drama.

There was Martina Navratilova, who took the harassment and scorn of homophobia and triumphantly turned it around, becoming a legend and one of the greatest gay icons of all time. Monica Seles (my all time favorite), who brought power to the women's game, who was well on her way to becoming the all time best, then watched it all disappear in one of the most horrific moments in sports history. The Williams Sisters, who brought much needed diversity to the sport, and the sexpot campiness of Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova.

On the men's side, there's an added appeal for gay fans. In addition to the personalities and drama, tennis has the hottest men of any sport. There have been plenty of hot tennis guys in the past, like Patrick Rafter, Mark Philippoussis, and Bjorn Borg. Here are ten active players to add to the list, and if you weren't a fan before, maybe this will help convince you.

Andy Roddick - USA

I have to admit, Andy Roddick is not my favorite player (he can be very obnoxious at times), but I also have to admit that he's still the sport's reigning male pin-up. I also think he's so much hotter with a little meat on his bones.

Robby Ginepri - USA

Robby Ginepri (aka "my mountain man") is not as well known as his fellow Americans Andy Roddick and James Blake, but he's every bit as hot.

See more tennis hotties, and a clip of a big Russian in his underwear, after the break.

Switzerland's Roger Federer did as expected and took out Serbia's Novak Djokovic in three sets at Sunday's US Open Men's Final. This gives Federer twelve Grand Slam wins, only two wins shy of tying Peter Sampras' all time fourteen Grand Slam titles. Given that Sampras retired at age 31, it seems that unless he is derailed by injury, the 26-year old Federer is almost a given to catch Sampras and become the greatest male player ever. (But Pete'll still be cuter!)

As for Liza, she was on hand to sing the national anthem!

Do you think Roger ever gets tired of lifting these things over his head?

I guess you could say Federer beat the "shirt" off Novak. It's late Sunday night. Sue me!

More pics after the jump!

I was all set to do a post about something heavy and serious when I thought, hey, it's Friday! It's beautiful outside! And I want something pretty to look at! So I plowed through Getty Images finding some relatively unknown tennis players from the ongoing French Open who were just screaming to be ogled celebrated. Bon apetit!

Dmitry Tursunov

Hmm, I just can't figure what it is I like so much about tennis