Page 26 - Tennis Magazine April 2019

The Miami Open will have a

brand new look this spring,

while its tournament director,

James Blake, will be making

a transition of his own

Stephen

When James Blake retired from tennis in 2013, he did what thousands to do just about anything else. When
of other ex-Ivy Leaguers before him have done: he thought about going he was young, a burned-out David
into banking. Blake was 33 instead of 23, and his two years at Harvard Ferrer quit tennis to become a brick
were long behind him. Unlike most Wall Street wannabes, though, he layer; it would be 20 years before he
had already earned nearly $8 million in prize money, criss-crossed the dared to put his racquet down again.
globe dozens of times, helped the U.S. bring home the Davis Cup and After his first retirement, at age 25,
recorded wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Bjorn Borg tried every occupation from
rally-car driver to TV commentator to
underwear salesman to professional
But all of the years spent pounding into finance and banks, and saw what libertine before making an inglori-
tennis balls, and pounding his legs it might be like to work in an office,” ous return to the tour. For Blake, nine
across asphalt courts, had left Blake Blake says, sounding slightly incredu- months away were more than enough.
wondering if he should try another, lous at the memory. “When you’ve “It’s pretty simple: I realized that I
less-taxing line of work. It wouldn’t be been traveling non-stop for a decade, loved tennis, and I wanted to be part of
so bad to get out of the sun and sit you think you might want to stay in one it in any way I could,” says Blake, who
behind a desk, would it? place for a while.” has spent the past few years as an
“I took some time away—it ended up If there’s one thing that will make a analyst for Tennis Channel. “I wanted
being about nine months—to get an pro athlete appreciate what he does to use whatever wisdom I’ve gained to MIAMI OPEN / IMG
idea of what my options were. I looked for a living, it’s the prospect of having help the sport.”

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