Long-time tennis journalist Mike Dickson sadly passed away this week while covering the 24th Australian Open of his distinguished career. Nick Imison, a long-time member of the ITF Communications team, shares his recollections of Mike and his impact on tennis. 

British journalist Mike Dickson joined the tennis family as a breath of fresh air in 1990 at the age of 26. It was the era of tennis’s journalistic heavyweights, but Mike brought with him knowledge, enthusiasm, a sense of humour and the ability to hunt down a story that would serve both him and our sport for over 30 years.

I first met Mike when I was working in the press office of the Lawn Tennis Association, then based at London’s Queen’s Club, not far from where Mike was living. At the time Mike was still freelancing for various publications, and he would pop by the office on a Friday afternoon to pick our brains for potential stories. On each occasion Mike would end up staying for several hours during which time we would discuss the state of the game, story ideas and any other topic that sprung to mind. I was a few years younger than Mike, and in my first job, but I was immediately struck by his energy and passion for the game, and would come to look forward to these weekly visits.

Not long after, Mike joined the UK’s Daily Mail and with it an invitation to join the travelling band of British media on the international tennis circuit. It was a good time to become a tennis journalist in Great Britain as the decade saw the emergence of Tim Henman as a word class talent, and with it an increased spotlight on the sport in the media. He quickly earned a reputation for his incisive commentary and flare for an exclusive, which certainly kept the LTA Press Office on its toes at times.

In 1999, tennis’s loss became cricket’s gain, when Mike began a successful eight-year career covering the England team, but he managed to maintain a connection with tennis throughout, attending events whenever his cricket schedule allowed. In 2007 he returned to our sport as the Mail’s tennis correspondent, by which time Andy Murray had emerged from Henman’s shadow as the next British hope. Mike can’t take credit for Britain’s success in the sport over the last 30 years, but his tennis coverage helped elevate the sport in the eyes of the public.

I was fortunate enough to be working for the International Tennis Federation by the time Mike came back to tennis, so we were able to continue our collaboration at the Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. Mike cared deeply about the ITF’s two team competitions, and while he could be critical at times, it always came from a place of wanting these events to succeed. The ITF was proud to award the Billie Jean King Cup Media Award to Mike at the 2022 Finals in Glasgow, a reflection of three decades of covering our international team competitions.

It was perhaps fitting that Mike died doing what he did best, covering the Australian Open in Melbourne, where his final article was a report on a first round victory by Jack Draper, tipped by many to become Britain’s next star player. He will be sadly missed by the whole of the tennis community, and our thoughts go out to his family and all his friends.

Mike, we will all miss you.