Renowned AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich Dies at Age 55

By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, May 21, 2026
Photo: Howard Fendrich, Carlos Alcaraz and Simon Cambers (left to right)
Photo credit: @HowardFendrich

Tennis has lost a top journalistic voice.

Renowned AP tennis writer Howard Fendrich has died of cancer at age 55, the AP announced today. Fendrich passed away at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore today, his wife Rosanna Maietta, said.

Fendrich’s passing comes three months after he was diagnosed with cancer upon returning from covering the Milan Winter Olympic Games.

One of the sport’s most respected and veteran writers, Fendrich covered 70 Grand Slam tournaments during his distinguished 33-year-career. He was a devoted and award-winning tennis writer.

Former world No. 1 Roger Federer paid tribute to Fendrich as a trusted journalist with an inquisitive mind.

“[He was] one of those constant and reassuring presences in the tennis world for many years,” Federer told the Associated Press. “He started covering tennis in 2002, right around the time I was starting to have my breakthrough in the sport, and over time he truly became part of the fabric of tennis.

“Tennis lost a wonderful journalist and a great person.”

Howard Fendrich is survived by his wife, Rosanna Maietta, and the couple’s sons, Stefano and Jordan, who are both planning to follow in their father’s footsteps as sports journalists.

Read the Associated Press’ Howard Fendrich obituary here.