Reeling in the Big One

How TNT's Sam Querrey invested to build himself into a sudden social media and television star.

PARIS, France — After TNT Sports shelled out massive money for the rights to Roland Garros—$650 million for 10 years—they kept on spending for the glitteriest on-air talent, too.

In its first year as the American rightsholder, TNT lured superstars like Andre Agassi and Venus Williams into TV punditry for the first time. They put those shiny new objects alongside Hall of Famers who are already veterans of the booth like John McEnroe, Chris Evert, and Lindsay Davenport.

But aside from the huge names, TNT has also given prime positioning to one retired American player with decidedly fewer triumphs on court.

A comparison to show how remarkable this is: Charles Barkley, who occupies a similar spot in TNT’s celebrated basketball coverage, was an 11-time NBA All-Star and one of the most popular and quotable players in the league.

His tennis counterpart, in contrast, had No. 11 as a career-high ranking, with matches that are probably only vaguely recalled by most casual tennis fans years after his retirement. Also unlike Barkley—and unlike most non-star athletes who become media personalities—he didn’t have any reputation as being a big personality on court or a great quote on the mic.

This is the story of how, after ending a playing career that hadn’t set him up for any particular post-career prominence or memorability, Sam Querrey invested time, effort—and significant money for high-priced social media consultants—to build something out of almost nothing.

This is the story of how Sam Querrey got the job.

“I really wanted it,” Querrey told Bounces.

Sam Querrey at Roland Garros on Thursday. (Photo by Ben Rothenberg)

To read this post on how this remarkable post-career transformation happened and shaped U.S. TV coverage—and to learn how the sausage gets made behind the scenes on tennis social media—please subscribe to Bounces!

Plus, Day 6 Matches to Watch. Thanks for subscribing! -Ben