Tennis Reporter Dies While Covering Australian Open: Mike Dickson Was 59

Mike Dickson, a British tennis reporter, died while covering the Australian Open, his family announced on Wednesday. He was 59 years old. The official cause of death was not announced, but Dickson was one of the more respected journalists in the sport, covering tennis for over 30 years. 

"We are devastated to announce that our wonderful husband and Dad, Mike, has collapsed and died while in Melbourne for the Aus Open," his family said on X (formerly known as Twitter). "For 38 years he lived his dream covering sport all over the world. He was a truly great man and we will miss him terribly."

"It is with profound sadness that we learn of the passing of Mike Dickson. A long-standing member of the tennis family, and ATP Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award winner, Mike’s love for the game and presence on Tour will be deeply missed. Our thoughts go out to his family,… pic.twitter.com/ZJcUNH8hxM

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 17, 2024

According to the Daily Mail, Dickson was at the outlet for 33 years. He previously worked as a cricket correspondent before moving over to tennis and covering 30 different sports across nearly 50 countries in his career. He was only a few days away from his 60th birthday (Jan. 27). 

"Too talented, too dedicated, too kind, too generous, too good a man, too respected, too fine a colleague, too good a friend, too supreme a tennis writer, too strong an all round sports reporter and most importantly of all too young to leave his wife, his children and his second family at this newspaper," Daily Mail journalist Jeff Powel said. "A tragic loss. The only consolation is that he died doing what he loved. Being a major player of his craft at a Grand Slam."

The US Open added: "We are incredibly saddened to learn of Mike's passing. Mike was one of the most well-respected journalists in the industry, and our media center won't be the same without him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues."

"All of us at Wimbledon are deeply saddened to hear this news," Wimbledon said. "Mike covered so many of our Championships during his remarkable career in journalism and brought so many stories to so many sports fans around the world. Our thoughts are with his family and friends." Dickson's final two articles were published on Wednesday morning. He wrote about Jack Draper winning his Australian Open match and previewing a potential match between Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter.