WASHINGTON, May 17, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)
Christopher Clarey, the dean of American tennis journalists, is stepping down from his beat as tennis correspondent for The New York Times after more than 30 years.
On Tuesday, Clarey revealed his news in a lengthy Twitter thread, in which he wrote that he is leaving The Times “of my own accord and with nothing but gratitude to become a full-time author.”
Big news for me:
After more than 30 years of covering #tennis & global sports for The New York Times & its Paris-based sister publication The International Herald Tribune, I am leaving the @nytimes staff of my own accord & with nothing but gratitude to become a full-time author
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) May 16, 2023
After covering global sports (including the Olympics and the World Cup) for The New York Times and its Paris-based sister publication The International Herald Tribune for 32 years, where he became one of the world’s leading writers on tennis – reporting from more than 100 Grand Slam tournaments and chronicling major tennis figures from Bjorn Borg to Serena Williams and prominent issues of the Open Era – Clarey has decided turn his attention to writing books.
Two years ago, Clarey authored The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer, published in 2021, which became a New York Times bestseller and was translated into 19 languages. Now, he is focusing his energy on writing The Warrior, a biography about Rafael Nadal.
Clarey wrote on Twitter: “The international success of The Master, my best-selling biography of Roger Federer, has created this opportunity and I’m already at work on my next book, The Warrior, a biography of Rafael Nadal to be published in 2024 by Twelve Books, which did such a fine job with The Master.”
A moment I won’t forget. The Master, my brand new book on Federer and this golden age in men’s tennis, is a New York Times bestseller.
Trying to play it cool (and failing). Thanks to all of you for your interest and support. pic.twitter.com/2qeQBXUjgJ
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) September 2, 2021
In addition to the Nadal project, Clarey is also beginning a Substack newsletter, “Tennis and Beyond,” where he plans to regularly write new material and host subscriber chats. He remains an avid runner, hiker, biker and skier in his free time.
In a Tuesday afternoon telephone interview with Tennis TourTalk, Clarey expressed feeling mixed emotions about leaving The New York Times. He said: “How could you not have them? It’s been my home for more than 30 years – I’ve written thousands and thousands of stories for them – it’s my identity. I’m very used to calling up and saying: ‘Hey, Christopher Clarey with the New York Times.’ It’s going to be a big change.
“I have no regrets. I got to cover – luckily for me and thanks to the paper – all the big events I dreamed of covering for them. I’ve gotten to go to all of them once and many of them more than once. I’m very grateful for that.”
Hats off to @benshpigel my longtime @nytimes colleague (we covered #Wimbledon together) and my very first paying subscriber on my very first day on substack
Hope you’ll join Ben. He has impeccable taste:https://t.co/Fgyx2rWx43 pic.twitter.com/xGiIWDkHjU
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) May 17, 2023
During his lengthy tenure with The New York Times, Clarey reported from 14 Olympic Games, nine World Track and Field Championships, six World Cup football competitions, five America’s Cup sailing competitions, 22 British Open golf championships and 10 Ryder Cups.
Clarey said the success of The Master surprised him and fueled his desire to write more long-form stories. “We sold a lot of copies and there were a lot of positive reviews,” he said. “People were energized by it. The publishers gave me a nice offer on book No. 2 and I gave it a lot of thought.
“Ultimately, it came down to whether I was going to write the book or stay at The Times. I felt like at this stage of my career and having really enjoyed the process of writing the other book so much, I could see the growth from that as a journalist – writing long form – and, ultimately, exploring these stories in full. I wanted to do it, again, and I’ve spent a lot of my career covering Nadal like I was covering Federer.”
Above all thanks to my parents for supporting my dreams throughout my life & to my wife Virginie for being a rock with a sense of humor for 32 years despite being married to a man who was either jet-lagged, absent or on deadline and sometimes all three at once!
I hit the jackpot
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) May 16, 2023
According to Clarey, there are a lot of good stories worth telling about the King of Clay and he’s already conducted many interviews and done plenty of first-hand reporting. His time away from daily newspaper deadlines will aid him in focusing on writing the Nadal biography.
Looking back on his decision to leave The Times, Clarey said: “It was not an easy choice but ultimately it was pretty clear. …
“I do hope to continue contributing to The Times when I return from finishing the Nadal manuscript, but my days as a regular staff writer and regular daily journalist are, I think, done.”
