The sports press conference has been under attack since Naomi Osaka’s announcement that she was not going to participate in them. I’ve written before that the few I attended were very civil, almost sensitive, affairs, with the reporters treading very delicately among the exposed nerves of the athletes they were interviewing.
In the criticisms of the institution, no one has pointed out its beauty: that it shows us a player’s humanity, something that’s rarely visible in the worldless (at least for viewers) games and matches. In tennis, except for the rare discussion with the chair umpire, and the occasional mumbled monologues and shouts of “Come on!”, we never hear from the players; they are mute animatrons running around the court hitting powerful shots. It is only in the post-match interview, with the victor, or the press conference, that we see who they are (or at least a carefully guarded version).
A tennis writer friend sent me a clip from Medvedev’s press conference after his loss to Tsitsipas last night. Asked about playing at night, without fans, the Russian said it was all about money, and went off on a little riff about the greed of the ATP, noting that the players were getting a smaller percentage of the earnings than usual this year. It was a fascinating moment, as gripping as anything in his straight set loss.
