Some of the steamiest films, TV shows, and books of late have been set in the world of professional sports. Among them, Challengers, the 2024 film starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, which explored a sexy love triangle between three professional tennis players; Heated Rivalry, the smash HBO series about two gay NHL hockey players from opposing teams who become lovers, based on Rachel Reid’s popular Game Changers book series; and Off-Campus, a sizzling TV series on Amazon/Prime set in the world of college hockey, based on the book series of the same name by Elle Kennedy.
Vellner says that as he began drafting the book, “I found myself leaning on how much I learned as a journalism student about storytelling: finding your hook, doing your research, using quotes to show character—it all really helped.” Photo by Gabriella Barrantes
Now comes Thirty Love (Alcove Press, 2026), a gay romance novel about two closeted tennis players, Leo Chambers, and Gabe Montoya, longstanding rivals on the court, who fall passionately in love after Gabe comes out as the first gay pro tennis player. It’s the debut novel by Tom Vellner (COM’13).
The book has attracted the kind of reviews first-time authors dream about. The New York Times praised the novel, noting that “there are few things better than a romance where even the non-sexy parts make your heart race…. The cast is charming, the sex is buoyant and the tennis—whew, the tennis writing is kinetic and explosive.”
Bostonia spoke with Vellner, editorial manager for the American Civil Liberties Union and a former star intern at BU Today, about his foray into fiction, how he combined his twin passions for gay rom-com novels and tennis, and what it’s like to write steamy sex scenes.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q&A
Bostonia: Tell us about your two main characters, Leo Chambers and Gabe Montoya.
Vellner: In many ways, they’re opposites. Leo is type A, follows the rules, doesn’t rock the boat, and listens to what his dad, who is his coach, tells him to do. Gabe is type B—plays the cool guy, doesn’t like to fit the mold, and shows off for the fans. They’ve been clashing since they were teenagers, when they met as American junior players. What’s so fun and satisfying about their relationship is that once they get closer, they realize how they’ve both created these facades to protect themselves from scrutiny.
Leo thinks Gabe is arrogant and showy, while Gabe thinks Leo is an uptight daddy’s boy. But they begin to break down each other’s walls and realize how much they’ve been struggling with the same issues as closeted athletes. As the story progresses, they see how much they’re actually alike—they’re both very caring, sensitive, funny people—and how much they make each other better both on and off the court.
Bostonia: The sex, when it finally arrives, is pretty hot. Was it fun to write those scenes?
Vellner: It was both fun and challenging. There was so much emotion to capture between Leo and Gabe finally letting go of their resentment of one another and laying it all out there, literally. So, I felt pressure to get that right. But it was also really fun getting to show steamy moments, ones that I bet a lot of queer tennis fans wonder about happening behind the scenes. To be able to show gay sex on the page as a gay author was meaningful too.
Bostonia: How did the idea for Thirty Love come about?
Vellner: I’ve been a tennis fan for a long time, but my love for the sport deepened during the pandemic. I was stuck at home with a Tennis Channel subscription, so I was watching tons of matches, and what always struck me was that there had never been an openly queer male player in men’s professional tennis. I’ve also been a rom-com fan for a long time, so it dawned on me that I could combine my love of tennis and romance and explore what it would look like if there were a pro tennis player navigating his queer identity while falling in love with his longtime rival behind the scenes.
Bostonia: You majored in journalism. Were you daunted at all by undertaking the writing of a novel?
Vellner: I definitely was. I remember googling how many words a novel should be. That’s how new to this I was. The word count alone was daunting. But as I started drafting the book, I found myself leaning on how much I learned as a journalism student about storytelling: finding your hook, doing your research, using quotes to show character—it all really helped. I even tried to break down the tennis scenes like a sportswriter to make sure they were as accurate and exciting as possible.
Bostonia: How did you go about writing the book? What was the process like?
Vellner: The process was mostly going back and forth between “this is great” and “this is garbage.” But beyond that, I’m an outliner, so I put together a three-act outline so that I had something to help me keep the story on track. Otherwise I think I would have lost my mind and the plot. Also, I put together profiles for the main characters, including their personality types, what motivates them, what they want versus what they need. I mostly wrote the book in chronological order so I could feel how the characters were developing as I went.
Bostonia: Had you always harbored a desire to write a novel?
Vellner: I remember when I was graduating from eighth grade, we had to include what our future goal was in the yearbook. I said that I wanted to be a famous author. I’m not so sure about the famous part anymore, but I always had that dream in the back of my mind.
Bostonia: You’ve been praised for your depiction of the world of the pro tennis circuit. What kind of research did you do?
Vellner: Much of the research happened while watching hundreds of matches. I would take notes on the players’ movements, how momentum shifts between opponents, and all the ways they fight to get the win. I watched documentaries like Break Point and Naomi Osaka on Netflix, read a lot of interviews with players, and followed many of them on Instagram and TikTok to get a sense of their lives traveling around the world. I also read books like Open by Andre Agassi and String Theory by David Foster Wallace.
Bostonia: Why do you think gay love stories have become so popular among readers?
Vellner: For so long, queer stories have been underrepresented in literature. And when they have appeared, they’ve often been drenched in tragedy and death. But joyful queer romance novels are finally breaking through, and I think readers are so excited about that. They want to celebrate them and make sure they find success so that publishers know we want more of them. I had a reader tell me recently that they consider queer romance to be lifesaving, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s impossible to overstate how important it is to see a character like you find love and support when the world often tells you that you aren’t deserving of that.
Bostonia: What else have you heard from readers?
Vellner: I’ve gotten such wonderful DMs and email from readers about how much the story meant to them because of their own coming-out process or because their loved one has multiple sclerosis like Leo’s dad and coach, Johnny, does, or because they just really needed a hopeful story right now. Hearing that people cried in their car while listening to the audiobook or stayed up until 3 am to finish reading the book has been the best part of putting it together. It’s surreal.
Bostonia: Have you begun working on another book?
Vellner: I’m working on a second novel now. I had planned to write another romance, and I might come back to it someday, but I’ve actually shifted gears. I had another story floating around in my mind that I couldn’t stop thinking about and needed to tell first. I’ll just say that there’s still a gay love story at the heart of it, but it’s not a genre romance and it explores larger themes of masculinity, religion, and class.
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