Emma Raducanu paid tribute to Mail Sport’s legendary tennis correspondent Mike Dickson after his tragic death aged 59.
The British tennis star, 21, exited the Australian Open on Thursday, losing in three sets to China‘s Wang Yafan.
But former US Open champion Raducanu still took time to speak warmly about Dickson, who wrote a book about her rise to fame, and send condolences to his family.
‘I heard the news this morning and I was pretty taken aback to be honest. He was here two nights ago and everything was normal,’ Raducanu said.
‘It just shows how precious life is and it puts everything into perspective.
Emma Raducanu has paid tribute to Mail Sport’s legendary tennis correspondent Mike Dickson
Dickson, who worked for the Daily Mail for 33 years, tragically died at the age of 59 this week
‘I know I just came off a three set loss but in comparison to what happened, I was taken aback.
‘Condolences, I’m sorry it’s a very sad day for everyone and his family, so I really hope you can stay as strong as you can.’
It came after tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal paid their respects to Dickson, a hugely respected journalist who spent 38 years in the industry and 33 of those with the Daily Mail.
‘Condolences to Mike Dickson family. Rest in Peace,’ Djokovic wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter in response to a post from Dickson’s family announcing his passing.
Nadal wrote on his X account: ‘Very sorry to hear about the passing of Mike who has been following tennis all these years. My thoughts to his family and to our tennis family for the loss. Rest in peace.’
Dickson was in Melbourne covering the Australian Open when he died and a matter of days away from his 60th birthday, on January 27.
Tributes poured in from across the world of sport and journalism after the news broke.
Raducanu lost in three sets to China’s Wang Yafan in her second round match in Melbourne
Novak Djokovic was among the tennis stars who paid their respects to Mike Dickson
Former British No 1 Tim Henman was visibly emotional as he paid tribute to Dickson
Former British No 1 Tim Henman, speaking on Eurosport, said: ‘It’s incredibly sad that he passed away in Melbourne.
‘He was a great friend of the tennis community and our thoughts go out to his family.’
World No 4 Coco Gauff tweeted: ‘I am so sorry to hear this news. Sending my deepest condolences and may he rest in peace.’
Former World No 1 Tracy Austin added: ‘Heartbroken by this shocking news. Enjoyed working with Mike over the years. Sending condolences to his family.’
Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker also paid tribute. ‘Terrible news out of Melbourne! My sincere condolences to the family of Mike Dickson, who passed away this morning…RIP Mike,’ he wrote.
Dickson’s esteemed work covering Wimbledon over the years saw him dubbed ‘Mr Wimbledon, and the tournament’s official X account said: ‘All of us at Wimbledon are deeply saddened to hear this news.
‘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.’
Meanwhile, the Australian Open posted: ‘We are shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Mike, our long-standing colleague and friend. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family.’
Dickson lived in Wimbledon with his family and loved following both Tranmere and Everton having grown up in The Wirral.
He previously worked as the Mail’s cricket correspondent before moving over to tennis and covered 30 different sports across nearly 50 countries in total during a rich career.
Dickson is seen here presenting the Ian Wooldridge Award to Roger Federer in 2018
Dickson was a hugely respected journalist by readers and players alike. Here he is seen running along a beach in Miami with Murray
His wife Lucy announced the news of his passing on X in a joint message with the family.
She wrote: ‘We are devastated to announce that our wonderful husband and Dad, Mike, has collapsed and died while in Melbourne for the Aus Open. 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. Lucy, Sam, Ruby and Joe.’
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