By Tom Morgan
Mike Dickson, an esteemed sportswriter with the UK Daily Mail, has collapsed and died in Melbourne while covering the Australian Open, his family has announced.
A popular figure in press boxes for 38 years, the author and journalist became cricket correspondent and then tennis correspondent after joining the Mail in 1990.
Mike Dickson interviews Johanna Konta in Florida, 2017.Credit: Getty Images
He was due to turn 60 on January 27 but his death was confirmed in a 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,” said a message via Dickson’s page 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,” added the message from “Lucy, Sam, Ruby and Joe”.
Dickson lived with his family in Wimbledon. He had been a regular at major events in tennis, cricket, horse racing and golf for decades.
He had contributed to a host of books too, including the Sunday Times bestseller Bob Willis: A Cricketer and a Gentleman. Among his many friends in sport was Michael Vaughan, the Ashes-winning England captain.
Dickson had been enthusiastically covering the tennis in Melbourne this week, posting on Tuesday “many happy returns to Grand Slam action for Emma Raducanu” after she beat Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-2 “with minimum of fuss”.
Tim Henman was among leading figures in tennis to pay tribute to Dickson.
Speaking on Eurosport, he said: “It’s incredibly sad he passed away in Melbourne. He was a great friend of the tennis community. Our thoughts go out to his family.”
Laura Robson, another British former player, said Dickson’s death was “truly devastating”. “Can’t believe it,” she posted on social media. “All my thoughts with Mike’s family.” Liam Broady, who is still playing, added: “Don’t know what to say. A strong, good and fair man. Cared about me when I was at my lowest ebb. Rest well Mike.”
The Sport Journalists’ Association also expressed condolences while Piers Morgan, a former Mail columnist and editor, said Dickson was a “terrific journalist”.
The Mail said Dickson had covered 30 different sports across nearly 50 countries during his time with the newspaper. A host of colleagues paid tribute to Dickson. Lee Clayton, global publisher for sport at the company, said: “Dicko was everything you want a correspondent to be – a brilliant newshound, a terrific writer and a friend to so many in his sport. The world of tennis will join us in mourning. He was a giant of a journalist.
“It will be an impossibly difficult time for us all as we digest this huge loss. Dicko was a magnificent tennis correspondent, but he would also turn his hand to any sport, especially cricket, golf and football, and support colleagues across our team in any challenge, always in such a generous manner. He was just a brilliant bloke, a class act. It was a privilege to work alongside him and to know him.”
