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When you have a career-best performance at a Grand Slam, ideally the focus would be on the achievement and not the extraneous, but that hasn’t been the case for Tennys Sandgren.

When he defeated Dominic Thiem to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals the growing criticism of his social media accounts was addressed by Simon Briggs of the Telegraph in his press conference. Here’s how it went.

Q. The rise in your profile has grown attention to your social media output, which includes some political figures who might be considered outside the mainstream, for instance, John 15, Nicholas Fuentes, who I believe attended the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville. Do you not think you should be concerned about linking your social media?

TENNYS SANDGREN: Is that linking?

Q. I know you've written on your bio, not endorsements, but there is a regular pattern. Someone like Mike Curnovic (phonetic) on your feed. I believe you debated Pete Segate (phonetic).

TENNYS SANDGREN: Debated? That's interesting, okay.

Q. There was an exchange at some point. Were you concerned about having yourself connected to some of these controversial figures?

TENNYS SANDGREN: I mean, no, I'm not concerned about it.

Look, who you follow on Twitter I feel doesn't matter even a little bit. What information you see doesn't dictate what you think or believe. I think it's crazy to think that. I think it's crazy to assume that. To say, well, he's following X person, so he believes all the things that this person believes, I think it's ridiculous. I think that's ridiculous.

That's not how information works. If you watch a news channel, you wouldn't then say that person who is watching the news channel thinks everything that news channel puts out. You wouldn't think that.

No, I'm not concerned about it. And I don't think any kind of engagement in that way dictates that you then are right in there with that particular person. I don't think it works that way. I don't see it as working that way.

I mean, you can ask me about my beliefs on things, that's cool. But I think to lump in and say, You follow this person, so then wow, who are you? Ask me who I am. I'm perfectly fine answering those kinds of questions.

Q. Do you feel you support some of the alt-right movement?

TENNYS SANDGREN: No, I don't. I don't. I find some of the content interesting. But no, I don't, not at all. As a firm Christian, I don't support things like that, no. I support Christ and following Him. That's what I support. Thanks, though.

That interaction caused Sandgren to delete all his tweets, except one, the following day.

The story was picked up by several media outlets and debated on Tennis Channel’s coverage of his match with Hyeon Chung in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.


After Sandgren’s match he read a statement to media from his phone and informed them that he would only talk about the tennis. Here’s what Sandgren said.


You seek to put people in these little boxes so that you can order the world in your already assumed preconceived ideas. You strip away any individuality for the sake of demonizing by way of the collective.

With a handful of follows and some likes on Twitter, my fate has been sealed in your minds. To write an edgy story, to create sensationalist coverage, there are a few lengths you wouldn't go to to mark me as the man you desperately want me to be.

You would rather perpetuate propaganda machines instead of researching information from a host of angles and perspectives while being willing to learn, change, and grow. You dehumanize with pen and paper and turn neighbor against neighbor. In so doing, you may actually find you're hastening the hell you wish to avoid, the hell we all wish to avoid.

It is my firm belief that the highest value must be placed on the virtue of each individual, regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. It's my job to continue on this journey with the goal of becoming the best me I can and to embody the love Christ has for me, for I answer to Him and Him alone.

I'll take questions about the match, if you guys don't mind. Thank you. If you have any questions about the match.


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