Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula were among the players paying tribute to Associated Press tennis writer Howard Fendrich as competitors gathered at Roland Garros, where the French Open is now without one of the sport’s most respected journalists. Fendrich, a fixture at Roland Garros and at the tennis majors since 2002, died Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore after a cancer diagnosis earlier this year. He was 55.
News of Fendrich’s death prompted an outpouring on social media and messages from across the sport. Nadal — whose record 14 French Open titles were chronicled in detailed dispatches by Fendrich — posted Friday morning that “Tennis loses one of its great journalists.” The tribute underscored how closely Fendrich followed and reported the game’s biggest stories.
Gauff, the reigning Roland Garros champion, opened her pre-tournament news conference by recognizing the loss. “I just wanted to start this off just recognizing a deep loss that I think we all have experienced as a community with Howard,” she said. “He was someone I always enjoyed having conversations with. One of my favourite faces to see in the room.”
Fendrich had spent 33 years with The Associated Press, 24 of them covering tennis. He was diagnosed with cancer in February, shortly after returning from Milan where he covered his 11th Olympic Games. Colleagues and players noted his professionalism, warmth and the steady presence he provided in press rooms and at events worldwide.
The Women’s Tennis Association paid its own tribute, recalling how Fendrich’s signature lead into questions — “soooo, I’m curious …” — set a kind, comfortable tone in interviews. Pegula, ranked fifth and a member of the WTA Players’ Council, called him “one of the most respected journalists in our sport and someone players trusted because he always approached his work with honesty, professionalism and fairness.”
Former players and figures including Roger Federer, Billie Jean King and Patrick McEnroe, president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, also honored Fendrich on Thursday. Washington-based journalist Adam Kilgore, a frequent press-box colleague, remembered him as “the best person to see at a game, in a press room, at a dinner after an event,” reflecting the personal as well as professional loss felt across the tennis community. (AP)
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/05/24/nadal-gauff-pegula-pay-tribute-to-one-of-most-respected-tennis-scribe/
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Publish Date: 2026-05-24 04:39:00
