The sports journalism community is grieving the sudden and tragic loss of Mike Dickson, a renowned figure in tennis reporting. Dickson, who was just days away from celebrating his 60th birthday on January 27, passed away unexpectedly while in Melbourne covering the Australian Open.
The news of his death was confirmed through a heartfelt social media post by his wife and children. “We are devastated to announce that our wonderful husband and Dad, Mike, has collapsed and died while in Melbourne for the Aus Open,” the message shared via Dickson's X account read. “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,” added the message from “Lucy, Sam, Ruby, and Joe.”
While Dickson was generally respected in the sports journalism space, he was also known for his critical and controversial coverage of tennis star Novak Djokovic. Some of his headlines included: “Welcome to the Wacky World of Novak Djokovic: Anti-vaxxer tennis superstar is a tree-hugger who insists Bosnia's ‘pyramids' give off mystic energy and that positive thoughts can PURIFY water,” “Novak Djokovic's WEASEL words cut no ice and he has damaged his reputation with his ‘misinformation' around the Australian Open… after helping to create a player union, his leadership credentials have been BADLY damaged,” “Novak Djokovic will remain a hero to some, but to many others he has TRASHED his reputation beyond repair,” and “Novak Djokovic could ruin his chances of becoming the GOAT by refusing to take the vaccine… it is a strange hill to die on for a player who is so desperate to be loved.”
Dickson consistently referred to Djokovic as “deplorable” and seemed to have a singular fixation on his unvaccinated status. In a 2022 article, he wrote, “He says he wants more information, but how much more does he need? More than 10 billion doses have been administered worldwide and there is now a wealth of evidence out there.”
Despite being a constant target of Dickson's criticism, Djokovic showed his respect and offered a message of condolence on X.
