Obituary: Howard Fendrich

I think I met Howard for the first time at the US Open in about 2004 or 2005. As the tennis writer for the Associated Press, Howard always sat on the end of one row in the press room, pouring over his words, working hard to produce the best articles he could. In those days, the AP had an incredible number of deadlines every day for US newspapers and Howard seemed to be there almost from start to finish.

At that time, I was covering the US Open for Reuters, sitting in the same row, usually next to Robbie Mendelson, who looked after all the results and statistics. “Robbie,” the call would come from Howard, and the pair of them would disappear for a cigarette break outside, taking a breather from the intensity of a job that often saw him working long, long hours, well into the night.

I got to know Howard much better in later years, occasionally working with him, which gave me a better appreciation for what a top professional he was. Covering tennis is far from easy; there are so many players finishing matches, often at the same time, conducting press conferences or mixed zones, often at the same time. Somehow, Howard seemed to be at almost all of them, ducking out of one to be in another, asking thoughtful, considered questions in his unique way; eyes half-closed, pen and paper ready. Always respectful, if there was a tough question to ask, he would always ask it. The players knew him and respected him, realising he had done his homework.

Howard could be grumpy, usually when technology let him down, but he was also able to laugh at himself, such an important quality. He mellowed as the years went on, too, still a perfectionist but realising, perhaps, that he couldn’t (quite) do everything. He was good company, happy to chat to anyone, generous with advice and time.

He joined the ITWA Board in 2022 and became co-president with me in 2023. For the past three years, we worked together to try to improve the lot of journalists, both inside and outside ITWA. As with his writing, he was ultra-professional and always came up with practical ways to get our messages across.

The response from players and everyone in tennis showed how much respect everyone had for Howard. He would, I hope, be very proud of that.