It is tiring but it is the best job in the world!Sometimes I feel like an imposter. And I get to stay through the finals, often getting to interview Israeli and Jewish juniors, and also covering wheelchair tennis. Tom Perrotta’s new novel examines how ordinary people react to extraordinary situations in the wake of a rapturelike event that has whisked millions of people off the face of the earth.On a good year, I arrive for the qualifying tournament, where I am most likely to see Israelis battling for a spot in the main draw. Name given to an award presented annually by the University of Southern California (USC) to honor both authors and. American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novels Election (1998) and Little Children (2004), both of which were made into critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated films.
His colleague, Jason Gay, wrote movingly about his friend and colleague. Tom died at age 44 after a 4-year battle with brain cancer.Tom Perrotta wrote mainly for the Wall Street Journal. The tennis world lost a giant. One of the greatest I have ever met is Tom Perrotta, who sadly died this week. I am always in awe of the men and women who travel the globe—from the Australian to the French to Wimbledon to the US Open—to cover the events, the players, the behind the scenes and the vibe.
On a couple of occasions, it was me and Tom. I remember at the last US Open (where fans and reporters were allowed), standing around the info desk in the media center waiting for a not-so-top ranked player to come for a media session. I would sometimes sit near him in the media section of Arthur Ashe Stadium and listen in awe as he and tennis journalist and historian par excellence, Steve Flink, would compare notes—about the match in progress, or about a match from 1998, where both could effortlessly from memory reconstruct the draw sheet.
Tom wrote a moving article in the Wall Street Journal this past November, when he was losing vision and cognitive processing speed. I didn’t realize he was also battling brain cancer. I admired his knowledge and his insight and admired a guy who could do what he loved.
The only part as great as the tennis itself is renewing acquaintances with old friends. It isn’t like the job doesn’t have its hassles, or bad days, but most of the time, it feels like you’re getting away with something.” We get to be around tennis for so many hours and days in a row!I look forward to being part of the team of 1200 credentialed media who get to share the stories of the US Open each year with the world. “Here’s a little secret about what it’s like to cover one of those major tennis tournaments: It’s just as great as it sounds. It was entitled, “In a Stay At Home Pandemic, a Sportswriter Finds a Silver Lining.”In his tribute to Perrotta, Jason Gay shared a feeling that all of us lucky enough to cover the US Open can relate to.
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