Hey guys, welcome to What's the Call?
The podcast where sports meets side eye.
We're here to breakdown the matches, the meltdowns and the
moments that make us pause and say, what was that call?
I'm Theo, I'm Andrea, and we're glad you're here.
Whether you're sports obsessed or just here for the drama,
there's a seat for you courtside.
So let's dive in. We've got a guest today who has
been everywhere in tennis media, covering every major on the
calendar, doing on court interviews, commentary,
features, social content and Co hosting the Love All podcast
alongside Kim Kleister's. She genuinely understands how
tennis media works from the inside, and she's not afraid to
talk about it. Blair Henley, welcome to What's
the Call? Oh.
My gosh, thank you for having me.
I feel like the sound of your voice was just like so great.
I feel like I'm in the movie theater.
Thank you for having me on the podcast.
Thank. You.
That's a huge compliment. OK, so before we get into
everything, I just want to hear about your origin story.
How you know your goal in the tennis media landscape came to
be? I usually describe it mostly as
just the hand of God because I never could have predicted that
I would have ended up doing what I do now.
I started off writing about tennis sort of on a whim.
My husband was playing professional baseball at the
time, and we moved 16 times in about 3 years.
And so it was very hard to have a normal job.
I sort of taught tennis everywhere we went, but, you
know, it was everything was very temporary.
And so I thought to myself, even though I had no actual formal
training -1 newspaper writing class in college, it's like this
is my chance to start writing, doing tennis, writing if I want
to. I was doing it for free.
I remember in one of the first tournaments I ever covered in
Delray Beach, I had a seasoned reporter who, in the middle of
the very small press room, kind of chewed me out for writing for
free. And I think that's one of the
tough things when you're first starting and trying to make a
name for yourself for a lot of whether it's, you know,
podcasters, journalists, sometimes you have to take a
little bit of a risk and put yourself out there.
And you might not be making the big bucks off the bat, but you
have to somehow find a way to get your foot in the door.
And I understood her point of view.
I get it. If you're being paid to write
and somebody else is doing it for free, that's not good for
the economies of scale. But regardless, her point was
taken. But I felt like that's what I
had to do to get get some experience.
And so I was doing some tennis reporting from home.
I would watch matches and write match reports.
And that was sort of what started things for me.
And then when my husband finished playing baseball, he
had to go finish school. And so I'm thinking, you know,
what the heck am I going to do? Because we didn't know where he
was going to end up. And there was a tennis website
that was actually based in Houston called Tennis Now.
And they brought me on and they had a pretty significant YouTube
following. They still do today.
And so they had a, a studio. I was able to get my feet wet
doing things in front of the camera, which I always love.
Like I love being in plays as a kid.
I, I like sort of the performance aspect of it.
And so again, they, to their credit, sort of allowed me to
cover whatever I wanted to cover.
And really the ball started to get rolling in 20.
Let's see was it 20/13/2014 when I applied for Wimbledon
credentials thinking no shot in a million years and they
approved little old tennis now FERC media credentials at
Wimbledon. And so I went to my boss and I
was like hey, so I did a thing I applied for us to get Wimbledon
credentials and somehow they said yes.
And again, to my boss's credit, he found a way to get me there.
And that's one of the coolest things about tennis, I think
still to this day is once you sort of meet, you know, people
in different pockets of the industry, it's such a small
world. So, you know, I still keep in
touch with some of the people that I met in that media room.
And then again, one thing led to another.
I was doing this stuff on YouTube for tennis Now and then
in 2015 at the US Open. They were real desperate for an
MC on court 17 which is still to this day one of my favorite
stadiums. I assume you've been to the US
Open I've been to. The US Open I can't say I
remember Court 17, but. Fair enough.
Well, I do feel like at some point in the future, Court 17 is
destined to be renamed after someone for something because
Court 17, you're like, where is that?
In the parking lot? Like where is Court 17?
But it's a really cute like 3500 seat stadium and they needed
NMCI was also the DJI played the music I and and never forget.
It was my first my first again. I was doing everything for the
first time. I had no supervision.
I am so thankful to them in hindsight that they trusted me
to do this because it was the best way to learn.
I had no idea what I was doing, but I had to figure it out
because it was a televised court.
We had everything was on TV, but never forget Fergus Murphy, who
I know and love at this stage of my career, a really well known
chair umpire who from his chair yelled over at me, sitting like
I sat out in the open air. I sat in this one little sliver
of shade on Court 17 with my little iPod that I he would turn
up and down. And he's like, can you please
with his, you know, Irish accent, can you Please wait till
I call the score to turn on the music?
Like when I tell you I had no idea what I was doing.
But again, it was the best possible way to learn.
And that's kind of how I got my feet wet in the MC world.
And live hosting, which I found is so different from anything
you do in a studio. I think live hosting is just
really a skill set in and of itself.
I've had to really work at that part of things because just
trying to engage a live crowd is so much different than doing
something in a studio. So I've had a lot of work to do.
Thankfully. Hopefully none of that is on
camera. The encore stuff that I did at
the very beginning back in 2015, but I think I've come a long way
so. I feel like, yeah, the sort of
live and seeing, you know, it must be so different because you
have to read the energy from the crowd as well, and also the
energy from the player, like you have to think on your feet.
Yes, I think that was one of the first things I learned was that
sometimes you pause and you expect a response from the crowd
and they don't always give it. And if you pause and there's no
response, it's real awkward. And so one thing that I've sort
of, again, developed in my style over the years is doing less
pausing unless I am asking directly for a response.
All right, you know, I have one more question left to ask all of
you. Are we ready for some tennis
today? And it's like a direct request
for energy from the crowd. I don't expect the crowd to give
me energy because there is nothing worse than being like,
who's ready for some tennis today?
And it's like crickets. So again, these are things you
don't know until you try them and until you're out there
feeling really uncomfortable. So you just sort of, I think
everybody develops their own personal style.
And so did you have a moment where you know, early days where
you're like, wow, this is something that I can do
professionally, like I. I hoped I could do it
professionally after I had that initial opportunity.
And thanks to my boss at the US Open, who's still my boss at the
US Open? Michael Fiore.
He's the director of entertainment for giving me a
shot when I had very little on paper to prove that I could do
it. After I did that first US Open,
I absolutely thought to myself, yes, please, this is the dream.
I loved this, you know, so much to be able to be involved in the
tennis world. I mean, I grew up playing my
dad's director of tennis at a club, just retired finally at
what, 71 or two, finally called it a day.
But still, again, you know, I spent most of my childhood at
the tennis courts and played college tennis in the US.
And to be able to work in tennis when it again, it is so small,
which it's one of the great things and also one of the
frustrating things about it. I was so thankful for that.
And then I was thinking, OK, how am I going to turn this into
more? And so huge credit to some of
the events like Delray Beach that hired me again with very
little on my resume. Newport, who I still work for
today. I would do anything for that
team. You know, I, I am so thankful to
the people who helped me along the way, who said yes along the
way. And that's why I try, you know,
now not, not to say that I have that that power, certainly not
at this point in my career. But I have a lot of respect for
people who are trying to do something a little bit
different. And I always try to support that
and encourage that if I can, because I know what it feels
like to be the new kid. Thank.
You so much for coming on because Theo and I, you know,
we've been lifelong tennis fans and we decided like, why don't
we start this podcast from the perspective of a tennis fan fan.
Yeah. But it's so great to hear from
you because I feel like, you know, you.
It feels like a journey that maybe you didn't expect to be
on, but now it's, you know, like, you're such a force.
And, yeah, like the tennis meeting.
Queue That's such a nice way to describe it.
I, I don't know that I feel that way.
I still think that's the one thing about freelancing is that
you never really feel like you've made it because you might
have this job this week, but are you going to have that job that
week next year? Who's to say you have no idea?
You have no idea if if somebody's going to decide to go
in a different direction or listen, as a female in this
industry, I'm also very aware that I have a shelf life and I
know at some point they're not going to want me to be on camera
anymore. Like I, I like to think I have a
few more years, but I as a result, I put in the work to do
a lot more commentary over the past few years because I wanted
to make sure that was sort of an area of my resume that I had
done less and I wanted to make sure I had that skill set as
well. So there were, you know, no
holes in the resume. So and in part because I have to
make sure I don't have all my eggs in the on court hosting
basket because what happens if something changes or or you
know, I don't know, maybe tournaments aside, they don't
need that anymore. You have no idea.
And so there's constantly a feeling of maybe not being as
settled as I might like. And I try to, I try to remind
myself how important contentment is and just enjoying the day.
But the reality of being a freelancer is you always have to
be reminding people like, hey, I'm here, don't forget about me.
What are you thinking for next year?
And and that could be that that could be exhausting.
It's good and bad. It it keep keeps you on your
toes. But sometimes you're like, oh
man, I wish I could take a deep breath, you know?
Yeah, totally. And I feel like also tennis is
changing so much and media and social media and, you know, the
place that tennis is like taking and the sports in general like
is, is, is really, I think sort of an inflection point.
Absolutely. I mean, when I first started, it
was sort of at the very beginning of the social media
and tournaments having a social media presence.
It was it was sort of at the very beginning of that wave.
And you know, in Delray Beach, for instance, they let me do a
Mario Kart segment with Stevie Johnson, who at the time looked
like Luigi, Jordan Thompson, who looks like Mario and and Yoshi
Nishioka, who was Yoshi. And and I'm like, I would like
to do this like Mario Kart. And we have our three
characters. I had like full like headgear
costumes, the white gloves. I like commandeered a golf cart
from the city of Delray Beach offices.
I made I, I got cones from the Police Department, so they would
have to like weave in and out of these cones.
All of this to say, I from the very beginning loved the idea of
showcasing players in a way that people hadn't seen before.
And now it's it happens. Now, not not only is every
tournament doing it, but the tours are doing it.
You have overtime, who's in the mix, podcasts in the mix.
It's, it's all we see now, which I think is great.
I think, you know, I, I always say that you can really love how
somebody hits a forehand or a backhand, but most people are
going to decide who their favorites are for reasons other
than how they hit a forehand. It's going to be because of
their personality or because of where they're from or because
they saw some funny clip and thought they were hilarious.
You know, it's, that's the sort of stuff that really endears
people to a player for life. And so thinking that I could
help portray that, especially in the early days was so much fun.
And now it now it's a thing. Now everybody does it.
But at the beginning, people looked at me like I was bananas
for some of the stuff that I wanted to do 'cause I'm like,
listen, I mean, the worst they can say is no.
That's kind of my, my life motto is the worst they can say is no.
I'm gonna ask. Amazing.
I feel like yeah, those are my favorite clips, like fun clips
from tournaments. I was watching the prank now at
the room open where they kind of accidentally drop like a 3000
year old heirloom or yeah, and it's and the players reactions
are incredible. Yeah, that's that's by far my
favorite content. I I think about tennis when I
was younger and it was a different, totally different
world. It felt like, yeah, much more
serious, like, like there is a, you know, like you had to be
like a very baby, an older, more knowledgeable fan.
It was not like the statistics and that, you know, there's not
as much like fun around, especially the sport and the
media around this part. Yeah.
And that and that's really. Cheap.
Yeah. I mean, at Indian Wells this
year, the ATP brought me in to do a a few of these segments
that they were calling courtside confessions where we were
literally, and we were just kind of walking around.
Most of the time it was that green space or walking in
circles. And they said, listen, don't
talk about tennis. You know, you can sort of talk
about tennis adjacent things, but we don't want to know the
nuts and bolts. Go for the personality.
Would I have? If you had told me 10 years ago
that one day I would be on an ATP social channel asking Zizu
Bergs about twerking, I would have thought you were crazy.
So it's really come such a long way, even with the tours 'cause
there is a time where where that was sort of seen as maybe not
fit for, you know, the, the prestige of one of the tours.
But the fact that they've realized that that's the kind
kind of thing that really resonates with, I mean, who does
who doesn't like to see a tennis player try to twerk?
But that it it just resonates with the wide audience.
They still have the highlights for people who are just
interested in the tennis. But I think it's nice to have
both sides because I'm a tennis star too.
Like I like the tennis nuts and bolts as well, But I just think
the fun stuff is a great time. And so I love that that the
tours are are in on the fun as well.
Definitely. And so for your anchor
interviews where you know it's a close match you've prepared, but
you don't know what the final result will be like, what's
what's going through your mind in that moment and how do you
approach that? Well, spare a thought for the
matches that go to seven, six and the third or seven, five and
the third or six, four and the 3rd when you because that
usually means that I, at least for me that I have rethought the
questions about 7 different times because the narrative of
the match has likely changed several times.
So, so definitely the the tight matches in the third are the
most labor intensive. Like if I have a day where, you
know, usually kind of my process is after the first set is over,
I start to think about a plan A for what I want my questions to
be. So I always go in with a plan A
I am so say it's a, you know, straight set match my plan AI go
in with. But now at this point in my
career, if the player gives an answer to the first question
that opens a door to talk about something completely different
than I was originally planning, I will walk through that door.
There was a time where, you know, at the very beginning, Oh
my gosh, it was petrifying walking out there where I was
like nothing was diverting me for my plan A.
Like they could have said, I saw an alien last night and I've
been like, OK, and what's your plan after the match?
How are we warming down? So I used to be much more
robotic. And I think the more you do it.
And I think when I've observed the best interviewers, they
listen to the answer instead of just sort of automatically
thinking about what they're going to ask next.
They listen to what the player says or whatever, whoever the
subjects might be, and they they go based off of what the answer
is. And so I think the best
interviewers do that. And I have tried myself to do
that as much as I can. Obviously it's tough because
often times you're working with TV and you don't have 8 minutes
to work with, you know, not Jim Courier.
I love when the Australian Open gives Jim like a straight up
talk show on Rod Laver Arena. That's amazing and he does the
most with that. But most of the time we do not
have that luxury to sort of let's just see where it takes
us. Let's just dive in and, and
follow along with where the player wants to go.
Yeah, the the time, the time is hard, but that's sort of my
process. I go in with my plan A and then
we we see where it takes us. And I feel like I can always
tell when an interviewer is like trusting their own instincts and
not, you know, not to up here, but just like exactly as you
said, like really listening to what the player is is saying.
And So what do you do when a player isn't doesn't really give
you that much to work with? It's tough.
I, I feel like often times the only fix for that is time and
more doing more interviews with that player, spending more time,
you know, seeing that player in player dining.
For instance, I'll, I'll give you an example like Alejandro
Davidovich Vukina, such a colorful player, such a fun
personality, doesn't give a ton in the post match interview.
I have such respect for players who are speaking in their
second, sometimes third language in those post match interviews.
So that also is difficult for for players for sure, But I in
knowing what his personality is like and in wanting the crowd to
see that as well. Like I if he's playing games
with his team in player dining, like in Dallas this year, I just
walked right up, asked him what they were playing, asked who was
winning at, you know, again, just trying to essentially
relationship build so that there is when you get out on a court,
which can be depending on the player's personality and
intimidating place to be, You're, you're, you know, in a
stadium, eyeballs are on you. Sometimes there's an echo.
Sometimes, like at the US Open, people aren't paying attention.
So sometimes you can hear like the buzz of the crowd and you're
like, is anybody hearing what I'm saying?
Maybe not, but you have the TV audience as well.
And so having the relationship with the player and building the
trust can often help. Pull a little bit more out from
the players who maybe aren't as comfortable in the post match
interviews. And so sometimes I just have to,
I kind of take it as a personal challenge.
If there's a player, I'm like, well, we got 10 words today out
of three questions. But again, sometimes it's their
comfortability levels, sometimes it's their comfortability with
English, and sometimes it's a personal thing.
And so I do my best to make them feel as comfortable as possible,
even if it's off court, to sort of build that relationship.
Amazing. Yeah, because that was one of
my, one of the questions I wanted to ask you is like your
relationship with Francis Tiafo and a lot of the American
players is very well documented and sort of like, you know, and
you've answered this, but like how important is that
relationship to you? And at the same time, I know
that you are now commentating as well.
How do you sort of like, manage that relationship while still
being, you know, like an objective, not wanting to say
something that might hurt them or offend them in some way
because inevitably that might happen.
Yeah, I've actually talked to Chris Eubanks about this because
he obviously, I mean, he has this to the NTH degree.
He's he's much closer with many of those players than than I am.
And, and I like to think I have good relationships with many of
them. But when you go from being a
player to being a commentator, and I think it is sometimes a
tough line to straddle because the viewers appreciate honesty.
They appreciate the ability to to deliver the facts.
And I think I think that really is the key right, is sticking to
the facts and not editorializing too much.
And if anything, to me, it should be a bonus because you
can give the facts on what you're seeing on the court, but
you also have the added context of knowing what their
personality is like, potentially knowing what their coach's
personality is like or what they've been working on on the
practice courts. I think it's a net positive.
I guess is, is probably what I would say about that because
there's so much context you can give by having those
relationships that and, and I think the players also
understand that we have a job to do even in a post match
interview. If I, you know, if a player
demolishes A racket and that was a a key turning point in the
match or something like that, and you know, say they still won
the match, I will probably ask about that moment.
And I think that they understand.
I think a lot of it's in the phrasing, but for the most part
they get that we also have a job to do like.
Does that happen often where there are players and you see
them like in the tournaments and in the dining rooms and, you
know, like they're, yeah, they're totally different to how
they're portrayed on camera and on even on board?
I, I like to, if I can, I like to give specific examples and,
and a player who I've seen have a ton of growth over the past
year is Haley Baptiste, who is definitely on the Shire side,
maybe wasn't as comfortable with the media side of things and now
has had results where she's had to become more comfortable with
the media side. And I have found that sometimes
players are more or less comfortable in certain settings,
like a studio can be very intimidating.
You have all these lights, you have all these cameras, you have
a literal spotlight on you on the desk.
She was not as comfortable with that in Australia.
We then Kim Kleisters and I for our podcast, we talked to her
just last week and in that podcast context, she was
unbelievable and was able to show sort of the personality
that I've seen from her behind the scenes because she is so
funny and quick witted and she's a good storyteller.
And so I think a lot of it is just reps for the players
getting used to that, especially if your personality is not, you
know, Francis Tiafo level extrovert.
If if you are not a Francis Tiafo extrovert, you are
probably going to have to get used to that.
Like you see it in, you know, Eva Jovic, who has, has done a
ton of media in the last year and I think it's excellent at
it, but has has had to sort of get used to what that's like
and, and what the questions are. And the fact that honestly, I
think probably the best advice I would give any player going into
an interview is you can answer any question you want.
I could ask you, you know, what's the color of the sky?
And you could say, well, actually, you know, I just loved
how soft the grass felt on my feet earlier today.
Like you can take it in any direction that you want.
So media training, I love watching and listening to
interviews early on in a player's career where you can
tell that maybe they haven't had as much media training and
they're a bit more candid in them.
But at the same time, you I sometimes think like, Oh my God,
someone should be telling them, you know, like maybe this isn't
the most considerate thing to say right now.
So it's like there's a balance between, like, being overly
media trained but also being authentic and real and, yeah,
connecting to, you know, you're listening to the public, yeah.
And also realizing that being personable and relatable and
saying yes to some of the things that might seem silly on the
surface, but that are actually relatable because that's what
everybody's watching on social media.
It can mean actual dollars for players.
That that sometimes is what makes me scratch my head.
You know, again, with maybe some of the players who are less
forthcoming with their personality, I'm like this.
This could mean actual dollars for you.
And, and again, not that it's all about money, but make hay
while the sun shines would be my philosophy.
And and again, you can't make a player be something they're not,
but being able to sort of lift the lid a little bit on maybe
sort of the on court demeanor is, is so incredibly valuable,
especially if you're not a top, top player.
Like I think about a player like Zhizu Bergs who I hope will be a
top tenner. I was, I was literally just
thinking of him as you said, that it was like, yeah.
But he, I mean, thanks to his personality and the fact that he
has, has been really authentic on many different platforms.
He, you know, is the one producing the, the prank video
that, that featured every one of the top players on the AGP and
WTA tours. So I, I feel like there's value
for a player. And again, you don't want to
expose yourself too much if you are not an open person.
You don't want to talk like I, I, I get all of that.
I just think there's a way to do both.
I don't think you have to bury your soul, but I do think there
are little bits that you can give interviewers, outlets,
social media, fans on the court that can increase the value of
your personal brand. Definitely.
So who's your favorite player to interview?
Oh gosh, my favorite player to interview.
I mean, probably my all time favorite is Raj good old, good
old Rodger Federer. He he is truly a Unicorn in that
he just understands the assignment.
And Andy Murray was also like this.
There are there are several, I mean Novak, Novak as well, But
they understand what you're trying to get.
Even if even if you're bad at delivering the question, Rodger
knows what you want his answer to be and he can provide that.
And he's going to give you personal anecdotes and he's
going to give you specifics, which is one thing that I would
also always sort of advise a player to do if you can give
specifics, because a lot of athletes talk in generalities
and that's sort of the cliche stuff that can get boring and
wrote. It's like he's got an anecdote
on call for every question he gets, but he's, he's just
excellent in that way. And the last time I got to talk
to him was a couple years ago for a Wilson event in New York.
And at the end, like, I never take pictures with, we almost
never take pictures with people I, I interview unless somebody's
like get in a picture just 'cause I always feel
uncomfortable doing that. And somebody at this Wilson
event said Blair, you know, get in.
I was like, no, no, no. And then Rodgers, like, come on
in. So I was like, OK, OK, fine.
Rodgers says it's OK. And so I said, you know, we had
just finished this pretty Lang. I mean, it's like a good 15
minute Q&A. And I said, Rodger, I don't even
have to be good at my job when I'm talking to you.
And he's like, I feel the same way.
I was like, thanks Raj. Charming, charming man.
But he just has a way of making you feel like you are the only
person in the room, which is, is really truly the opposite of I
think so many famous people in general where you always feel
like they sort of have one eye on the door or one eye on the
clock. I, I think it's, it's so unusual
to have someone who is really just present in the moment, even
though, you know, they know what time it is.
So you just learn to really appreciate that Grigor Dimitrov
is another one who always is so present and, and in the moment
and just kind and gregarious and, and fantastic.
There are a lot on the women's side who I enjoy it.
It's rare to have someone who I'm like, gosh, not them.
Again, that's a that's a rare feeling.
But do you? Do you have?
You don't have to say who, but. There are a few where I'm like,
I could take this or leave it, Yeah, but I do, as you know, I
don't know, maybe this is my background as a, you know, a
former college athlete. But I'm competitive and so I
want to be the one who gets a good clip with XY or Z player
who is notoriously tough to get a good clip with.
You know, I'm like, I want to get the sound bite.
So there is a little bit of a challenge involved in that, like
how can I word it so that we can get the good stuff.
So I like the challenge, but it's nice to have the ones who
are just really lovely mixed in as well.
Yeah, so easy. There's a lot of psychology
important as well, like reading the person and.
Yes and knowing you know, there's there's one player who
comes to mind who I really tend to be very complimentary off the
top when I interview this person because that is the way this
person likes. It is not something I do a ton
of. I don't ever want to seem
obsequious in any way. I want it to seem authentic.
But if I know that I can get a better answer if I am very
complimentary out of the gates, I'm going to be very
complimentary out of the gates. Yeah, I know that's, that's,
that's so interesting because I feel like I for me, what I love
about tennis is that it is an individual sport.
I love knowing like the different personalities and
getting to know these individual players.
It's it's it's so fun. And a part of that is the encore
interview. It's a huge part actually,
because I feel like you don't really watch the press
conferences, but the encore interviews you do.
Yeah, this is my Ted talk to anyone who will listen.
Is I, I feel like it's easy to sort of phone in the post match
interview, there are some very general questions you can ask
and you can check that box and you move on to the next match.
For a lot of people, that is the only time they hear from a
tennis player is, is in that on court interview.
And so I am, I'm thinking, OK, if this is their only chance to
hear, you know, how great Matteo Baratini is, I want to give them
the opportunity with the the most thoughtful questions I can
provide. That's going to give as much
about their actual tennis and their personality as I can.
And so I guess it's like going back to my question about, you
know, like seeing the players in real life, not just during
tennis matches and on court. Has there ever been a time where
you've where a player has said something to you off court?
You're like, Oh my God, like, oh wow, this is like really
changing my perspective on you and who you are as a person.
Yeah, well, sort of along those lines, I actually have an
example for you in Dallas. I was out on a practice court.
Ben Shelton had just finished practicing and for whatever
reason, nobody on his team was out there.
Whoever, I don't even remember who he was practicing with.
They had left the court. He was just chilling on the
bench. And I went out just to say hi,
see how he was doing catch up on life.
You know, I'm a question asker in general.
And he happened to tell me that he had just bought a house.
And I that was obviously a private conversation.
And I was thinking though for like a last question in a post
match interview asking him about being a homeowner and how much
input he had on that and how much, how much he's decorating,
that sort of thing. Would be a fun sort of last
question that's relatable to anyone even if you know nothing
about tennis. But I asked him off mic, hey,
can I ask you about this? Because it was again, a private
conversation. And so I, yes, sometimes you do
get those Nuggets or whether it's a look inside a player's
personality off the court. But I always ask or make sure I
have permission before I bring that up in a, a public setting.
Like, you know, Barbara Krechikova is, you know, someone
I would consider a friend of mine.
I obviously probably know more about her than than a lot of
other players. But there are a lot of those
things that I would, before I ever brought it up in an
interview, I would say, hey, can I talk about XY or Z?
And my hope is that that builds trust as well to where they feel
more comfortable, that you can see more of the the genuine
personality off the court. Yeah, I know, definitely.
And I feel like, you know, these are, at the end of the day, like
professional athletes. They're not people who are in it
necessarily to be in the public eye, but they are in the public
eyes. And that can be a huge part of
their brand and a huge part of their success.
And so I think that is like a big part of being a successful
tennis player, especially now in growing the sport and growing
visibility as well so. Yeah, when you think back to
like what Billie Jean King was doing, you know, 50 plus years
ago and how she saw that sort of thing, you know, putting
yourself out there as growing the sport.
Now, listen, thankfully women's sentence is in a position today.
Believe me, women's sentence has its own issues today, but but
it's in a different position as far as sort of establishing
where women's tennis belongs in the hierarchy of sport in the
world. But that sort of mentality of,
hey, by doing this, yes, this can be helpful to me, but this
can be helpful in growing the sport as well.
And, and there are some players who again really understand that
assignment, some slightly less so, but by by letting people in
a little bit, you are marketing for the sport as a whole and
women's tennis as a whole. And can you think of an instance
where you've had a question that you've wanted to ask a player?
I know this might be a tough question, but like the right
moment hasn't arisen. Yes, I'm trying to think of a
specific example, but absolutely, yes, where I I've
had gosh, this is recency bias. It's again a Dallas open
example, but Trinity Rodman was on the sidelines for the last
few matches, the last couple of matches that Ben played there.
And obviously that is a huge story.
It was also around Valentine's Day.
It was also I, I knew around their one year anniversary.
So they're all these things and I'm like, how do I, I, I don't
want you never want to feel like you're exploiting something.
You want it to seem authentic and genuine.
And I, I, in a perfect world, they would sort of take the
lead. And that is there was a question
I wanted, I can't remember if it was about their, their one year
anniversary. And like, can you let us like,
do you have any gift ideas again, because it was also
around Valentine's Day. So I was like, where can I go
with this? And so I have a couple of of
trusted friends in the industry who, you know, this is not the
first time I've done this where I've texted and I've been like,
can I ask that? Or if I, if I worded it this
way, could I go there? Because it's, it's a risk,
right? Ask a good question is often
times a risk because it can fall flat on its face.
I mean, I, I will give you an example of that too.
In Miami, I was trying to think I had Amanda Anissimova on my
court like 3 or 4 days in a row. And so I want her, she's, she
has to get new questions from me.
And so I'm trying to be creative even though it's a different
audience, Obviously I want her to be getting different
questions. So I was thinking in my head
that it was relatable. She's sleeping in her own bed.
And I'm sure you've seen the social media videos.
Like I know they've done them with like hockey teams and, you
know, other sports teams where it's been like, what do you set
your thermostat at? And because again, relatable,
like I go into a hotel room, I'm turning it up to like 78°F,
which I realize is psychotic, but that's I, I, I, there's, I
might have a circulation problem, but I went to ask her
about like what, what are your ideal sleep conditions?
And I was like, where are we setting the thermostat?
Do we have a firm mattress? Do we have a soft mattress?
Again, 'cause I'm like, everybody has a bed, everybody
has thermostat. And in my mind, I'm like, OK,
she's staying at home. This is going at it from a
slightly different angle. It didn't hit it.
It just did not, it did not hit. She was like, oh, that's a
interesting question. It just didn't hit.
And so sometimes you put out the slightly offbeat question and
sometimes it's like, well, that did not fly.
That did not go well. I mean, it wasn't a disaster,
but it just wasn't great. And so, but I think that is the
thing about asking the question that can get the good answer is
that that same question depending on the day, even if a
player's not in a great mood, if they didn't maybe hear the full
question there, there's so many things that can go wrong to make
a slightly risky question go from fantastic answer, sound
bite that goes all over social media and train wreck like it's
a very fine line. And do you take a different
approach in different tournaments?
Like 'cause I know each tournament has its own sort of
culture. Wimbledon.
Is very different to the US Open.
How does that also impact the? Question.
That's a really good question. I, you know, I think what, what
really dictates the tone for me is whether or not my interview
is televised. And for instance, at a 250 like
I did Houston in April, the US men's clay courts at a 250, my
interviews are going to the world feed.
So yes, I am catering to the stadium audience, but I know
there's a much larger audience watching, you know, potentially
on tennis TV. And so I am really mindful of
the TV audience in terms of the tone of my questions.
Like I try if I if I do anything that's too Houston specific or
tournament specific, I have to make sure I'm giving context
because the person at home. You know, has no idea that the
River Oaks Country Club is known for their excellent water
pressure in the men's locker room.
Like you got to give, you got to give context on stuff like that.
But I so, so when it's televised, like at the US Open,
those are obviously also going to TV.
And so and, and often times, depending on the time of day and
also depending on the stadium, people are are either maybe sort
of paying attention or maybe not paying attention at all.
And so that you have to sort of balance as well.
So ATP events and people may or may not know this, but the ATP
starting at 500 tournaments or ATV media, excuse me, they send
their own reporter. And that is mostly for quality
control because there could be a 500, you know, in another
country somewhere who who has someone who's never MC before.
And then all of a sudden that is what your broadcasters are
getting as the post match interview.
And so they send their own reporter to do an interview
after my interview, which is not my favorite for a number of
reasons, mostly just because it cuts down on the time I can
take. I am much more rushed when I
know that there's at least two. Sometimes there's another flash
interview that happens on court before the next match can walk
out, which is usually 10 minutes from handshake to walk out.
So you have 10 minutes for the on court interview, for the ATP
media interview and then for any flash interviews that are on
court. And I'm always really sweating
because if the player takes a lot of time signing autographs
and they can't get him off the court, it's me, it's my
interview length through they're going to be like, you got to cut
it, Blair, your, your interview was too long, even if I only
asked three questions. So anyway, this is a full aside
that sometimes it can be more challenging when you have that
secondary interview because there's also another thing to
consider is like in the US, if Tennis Channel has a desk on
site, often times they are not going to take the post match
interview because they know that they're going to have that
player at the desk later. And so so that's another reason
why if you're watching in the United States, why there might
not be a post match interview that's shown on the broadcast.
OK. That's good to know.
Yeah. So there you go.
There are a lot of lot of factors, a lot of factors.
I guess we talk a lot about like the four Grand Slams and you
know, you mentioned being Wimbledon, U.S.
Open. Is there something that happens
at the at any of the Grand Slams that may be an average viewer a
tennis fan doesn't get to see? That's a good question.
Just the behind the scenes vibe and I, I have not worked at
Wimbledon. I covered Wimbledon as a writer,
but I've never worked for them in in the post match interview
department. I think I need to grow a British
accent for that. Yeah, sadly, and that is not in
my skill set at the moment, but I, I feel like just the vibes
that the happy slam thing at the Australian Open is real.
It's it's a real feeling. And I don't know if it's just
the first slam of the of the year or the weather or the
people. I don't know what it is, but but
it really does feel happy and, and light and fun and not that
the US Open doesn't feel like that.
It's just very much the, the New York mindset sort of permeates
the event, which again, isn't a bad thing.
I, I am half New Yorker. My dad was, was born in New
York. I spent half of my childhood
there. And so I like to think I have a
little bit of New York flood and I like sort of the fast pace,
like throw bows, like fast walking.
I I like all of that, but it just is a, it's just a different
vibe. Yeah, I think something I love
about tennis is the difference between the Slams.
I haven't been to the Australian Open, but I've been to the other
three, and they all just have their distinct, like,
atmosphere, culture. Totally.
So it's so fun. And I love Wimbledon, but I also
love how relaxed and laid back the US Open is in that sensor.
Yeah. And then the French Open is a
totally different, you know. I love, I love Roland Garros.
That's it's my sleeper pick for my top slam.
Really. I know, I know people think I'm
I'm nuts for saying that. It, it just has a lot of
character. There's just a lot of of
character and I like it. And Wimbledon, of course, is
very historic in its own way, but but almost because it's so
perfectly manicured, it seems less historic, if that makes
sense, because everything is just so perfect.
And Roland Garros, I think with the difference in, you know,
what the different stadiums feel like a really, there's a really
different vibe from one to the other.
I love the area sort of that newer area that they've built
where you go into the, what do you call it, the Lorangerie.
And there there's the the greenhouse court and you're, it
feels like you're walking through a garden and it's
actually built in this garden area, which is just so unusual.
And even the areas for the players, which are primarily at
Roland Garros underneath the grounds, it's sort of like
they're like 2 worlds. There's like the the top level
world. And then there's the the vowels
of the tournament below where the players and the coaches and
the physios and everybody is eating and relaxing.
And so, and that sort of duality, I think is interesting
as well. So, yeah, I, I wish that they
had more space to work with for their sake, just because it is
on a busy day, you are walking shoulder to shoulder and
somebody might be smoking next to you.
Like going to watch for cigarette ash out there at
Roland Garros. You know, and maybe this is a
very American perspective, but I, I just sort of like the, the
quirkiness of it. It's funny because I this year I
went to Indian Wells and then I also went to Monte Carlo and.
Oh my gosh. Wow.
And I know it's different because, you know, maybe, yeah,
Monte Carlo is not Paris. But I did feel that that like
big distinction between being at an American tournament.
I loved Indian Wells. I thought it was incredible.
It was such an amazing experience as a sports fan.
They had so much going on. It was so comfortable, so much
food, so many options for entertainment.
And then Monte Carlo was kind of like, OK, you know?
You're here for the tennis. You're here for the tennis.
Like, yeah, we're not going to provide that many extras for
you. Like you're here in this
beautiful space, like you're lucky enough to be here.
That's that's it. We're not going to we're not
going to give you any more than that.
And that is so. Interesting.
Yeah, I can. I have not been to Monte Carlo.
It is on. I would love to go one day just
as a fan. I don't even know what that
would be like. I have the last time I was at a
tournament as a fan. It's been a while.
But yeah, that would be, that would be so nice.
But I can totally see that. It's like this is the main
event. You are getting the view and we
are providing like you. Weren't lucky to be here.
Exactly. We are not going to make this a
comfortable experience. For you So funny what?
It felt like, and I guess on that note, I also had the
question of, you know, what's your favorite tournament as a
fan, also as a professional and is that different?
Oh, my favorite tournament. I mean, let's go professional
first. I will always have a special
place in my heart for Newports, which is no longer a tour level
event. It's now a combined 125.
But honestly, I would recommend to anyone who wants to get some
tennis history and also see some good tennis at the same time.
Come check out the newly renovated Hall of Fame in
Newport, RI and get to watch some grass court tennis.
It's the second week of Wimbledon.
For those that are here in the States and not making the trip
across the pond to go see the the main event.
It's still it's still really fantastic and the grounds are
beautiful. The history is incredible.
So that will always have a special place in my heart, as,
you know, definitely for work. I I love the people.
I I love all the people I work for, really.
But I am just really thankful to be a part of that Hall of Fame
family because as a tennis nerd, it's just the absolute coolest.
And then, yeah. So the Hall of Fame induction
this year is going to be unbelievable with Mary Carrillo
and Roger Federer. Oh.
My gosh. I know so so amazing.
And then gosh, my favorite, favorite as a fan, I do think
that for fans, Indian Wells, probably it's got to be up there
of, of the tournaments that I've been to.
And again, I haven't been to the event as a fan, but just sort of
looking at the fan experience, the space that they offer.
I think Australia does a great job of that too, because they
have space. There are sometimes when I'm at
these tournaments that I'm like, I do not like tennis enough to
stand in these lines to like elbow people on the sidewalks to
get through to, to. I don't like tennis enough like
I crops to these people who are standing in these lines.
Just, you know, see action on Court 8.
I don't know that I would be the one out there doing it.
So I gravitate toward tournaments that have space.
You have land. I'm bare.
Sign me up. Yeah.
No, totally. Actually, that was probably the
biggest. Distinction for me.
Between Monte Carlo and Indian walls.
Space space. Yes.
OK, So Speaking of Challengers, this is something Theo and I
have spoken about before. I feel like Challengers movie
came out two years ago and you know, Zendaya and her fashion
around tennis and it felt like it was a really important like
cultural moment for tennis. Do you think that the wider
sports infrastructure has done enough to like, capitalize on it
and, you know, like gain younger fans?
I do think they've tried a lot of things there.
I've definitely seen a lot of things that I've been like,
well, that's new. That's new.
And you know, some things have been more successful than
others. And I think sometimes it's been
the individuals who I mean, IA lot of credit to Paige Lorenz
and Morgan Riddle and I am Broomfield who have in their own
right, sort of separate from the things that the tours are doing.
I do think have brought tennis to different demographics.
And I, I think that that is fantastic.
I guess I, I think that there's, there's always more that you
could do. One of the things that tennis
struggles with is they're just a lot of cooks in the kitchen.
There are people who want budget to go here.
There are people who want budget to go there.
And sometimes it's hard to be like, hey, this seems like the
really clear answer. I, I definitely think there has
been an effort to capitalize. Do I always feel like it's hit
the nail on the head? No, But I, I do respect the
effort. And you got to just throw stuff
at the wall to see what sticks. That has been probably the
biggest lesson that has come out of me doing a lot, maybe not as
much now, but in years past in the social media space is the
things that had been successes on social media have so often
not been the thing that I put the most time and effort into.
It's been the dumb sound bite that just happened to to come
out of, you know, BTS moment in an interview or it it's been an
idea that sort of fell out of the sky.
Like let's throw this thing in, didn't spend any time
conceptualizing. And that's the thing that takes
off on social media. So if there was only a way to
predict it, I think that's the tough thing.
So, so credit to people for trying.
I think you just we just got to keep trying.
Yeah, it's, it's funny how there's no way to predict like
what will resonate with people. We always do a final call at the
end of our episodes. And it's just a quick one
question. The final call is are we at a
turning point for professional tennis?
Oh man, OK. I think that people have to be
vigilant because I think any point could be a turning point
if people are not paying attention or if people rest on
their laurels or if people get too confident because tennis is
having a cultural moment or a a pop culture moment.
I I like the fact that the USTA is doing, and this is I guess
the former tennis teaching tennis pro in me.
The USTA has a coaching program now to teach people how to coach
because I think that there is a lack of good coaching.
I can only speak for the US, but it's not great out there.
You have people coaching tennis who are not coaching people in a
way that is sustainable the older they get.
So you have so kids aren't getting a good foundation.
And so by the time they're 14, they're playing pickleball.
And I think it's a real thing that tennis needs to be paying
attention to is not just how professional tennis is doing,
but are people playing tennis. And so I, I really think again,
in the USI know in Europe it's Pedel, but a lot of my tennis
courts are now pickleball courts.
And I, I think that tennis really has to be vigilant in
making sure that people are still out there playing on the
courts, because that is what drives a lot of the interest for
these big events. And so I don't know if that's
where you thought I was going to take that.
I didn't even know that's where I was going to take that.
But I, I, I just think you can think about it from a top down,
but, but I really think you have to be careful to, to think about
the ground up perspective as well, because that is partially
why a lot of these pickleball events are packed is because all
these people are playing pickleball during the week and
on the weekends. And so I just want to make sure
that there is sort of the ground up perspective that's being
considered as well. But we'll see.
There's a lot of, you know, there's talk of boycotts,
There's all sorts of things have.
A lot on top. I can't wait to see how it all
shakes out, but I love it anytime, anytime I think a
professional tennis player might like, take a stand in a way that
would be truly unselfish. I, I don't think we've seen that
many times. So I, I would love to see it.
If a player really wants to stick their neck out, Let's see.
Yeah, let's see. I feel like the next week will
be interesting and the weeks leading up to the French Open.
Yeah. Thank you so much.
Blair, you're welcome. Oh my gosh, thank you for having
me. All my best to Theo.
I hope she feels better, but I would love to see you in person
at some point. Yes, we would love that.
Hopefully we'll be at the US Open.
We'll we'll keep in touch. But yeah, thank you.
This has been such an insightful conversation.
So thanks and keep up the good work.
Thanks for listening. That's it from us this week.
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