NEW YORK – Matt Van Tuinen and Sebastián Varela Nahmías received two of the awards presented in New York by the International Tennis Writers’ Association (ITWA), which also honoured Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff, both absent from the ceremony.
The striking setting of the Yale Club rooftop, in the heart of Manhattan, brought together the world’s leading tennis journalists on Saturday alongside representatives of the ATP, WTA, ITF and the Grand Slams.
During the evening, the Tom Perrotta Award – which each year recognises journalistic excellence in tennis by a professional under the age of 35 – was presented to CLAY‘s editor and co-founder Varela Nahmías.
Born in Chile 32 years ago, Varela applied for the award with two feature stories published in CLAY: “Escaping drug trafficking to transform lives with tennis” and “From solitary darkness to family light: a journey through Nicolás Jarry’s mind”.
“Roland Garros 2022 marked the beginning of CLAY, the outlet I founded with my friend Sebastián Fest. It has been a fascinating adventure, full of challenges. Today CLAY keeps growing, it is valued by our audience, and respected by our colleagues. This Tom Perrotta Award is also recognition of what Sebastián and I have built together,” said Varela in his acceptance speech.
The award honours the memory of Tom Perrotta, a distinguished North American journalist who passed away in January 2021 at the age of 44, after a four-year battle with brain cancer.
“Tom deserves to be remembered as the great journalist he was and, as many colleagues have noted, as a generous person, always willing to support younger journalists,” Varela added.
Varela’s award was presented by John Kane, Perrotta’s father-in-law. “With all his efforts, Sebastián reminds us that professional tennis is a social phenomenon providing a window into critical contemporary social and cultural issues and at the same time he reminds us how excellent journalism informs us and enriches our lives,” said Kane, who inspired the award. Previous winners include Britain’s Molly McElwee, France’s Quentin Moynet and North American writer Giri Nathan.
The ceremony was attended by ITWA board members, including co-presidents Simon Cambers and Howard Fendrich, as well as dozens of journalists, former players, agents, tennis officials and tournament directors.
Among those present were ITF president David Haggerty, Prue Ryan, head of public relations at Tennis Australia, and Catalina Fillol, tournament director of the Chile Open, held every February in Santiago.
The ITWA also presented the Bud Collins Award, which recognises those who have been of particular help to the media, and the Player Ambassador Awards, given to the players who collaborate most with the press, showing openness both in victory and defeat.
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and North America’s Coco Gauff were the recipients. As both Roland Garros champions were unable to attend, the awards were handed to them in their tournament press conferences.
Matt Van Tuinen, who for several years led media and public relations team at Indian Wells, was honoured for his work at the Masters 1000 that opens each season.
“It’s hard to express how central tennis has been in my life and career, especially the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Receiving the Bud Collins Media Award yesterday was a day I will never forget,” said Van Tuinen.
The ITWA brings together around 100 journalists, regarded as the most influential in the sport, representing all five continents. Its board carries out an ongoing effort to sustain and improve working conditions for the specialized press.
