L. Jonathan Wertheim (born 1970 in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

) is an American sports journalist and author. He is a senior writer for

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

magazine and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997 He has covered

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

, sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In 2017, he became a ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' correspondent on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and has covered a wide range of topics including

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

's increasing wealth due to new generation weight-loss drugs,

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

's Broadway role as pioneering journalist

Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American Broadcast journalism, broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broa ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's fight to buy

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

and extended interviews with sports stars

Caitlin Clark Caitlin Elizabeth Clark (born January 22, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Regarded as one of the greatest female collegiate players, Clark was tw ...

and

Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...

Books

Wertheim is the author of eleven books, including ''Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played'', which gives a stroke by stroke analysis of the 2008 Men's Singles Wimbledon final between

Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...

and

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...

and is a co-author (along with

Toby Moskowitz Tobias Jacob "Toby" Moskowitz (born February 3, 1971) is an American financial economist and a professor at the Yale School of Management. He was the winner of the 2007 American Finance Association (AFA) Fischer Black Prize, awarded to a lea ...

) of the New York Times bestseller ''Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won'', a wide-ranging statistical analysis of common misconceptions in American sports. * (2021)'' Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever'' *(2016)'' This Is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon '' with Sam Sommers *(2014) ''You Can't Make This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television'' with Al Michaels *(2014) ''The Rookie Bookie'' with Tobias J. Moskowitz *(2012) ''Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won'' with Tobias Moskowitz, L. *(2010) ''Blood In The Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich, and the Furious Rise of the UFC'' *''Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played'' (2009) *(2009) ''Venus Envy: Power Games, Teenage Vixens, and Million-Dollar Egos on the Women's Tennis Tour'' *(2008) ''Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler'' *(2005) ''Transition Game: How Hoosiers Went Hip-Hop''

Television and Podcast Tennis Commentary

Wertheim is an on-air commentator for

Tennis Channel Tennis Channel is an American sports digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of tennis, al ...

and a regular contributor on

Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 13 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in ...

's Served podcast In 2025, he was among the on-camera analysts and interviewers at the

French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...

tennis tournament in Paris, France for

TNT Sports (United States) TNT Sports is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery in the United States that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's streaming service, Max, and primarily the TruTV, TBS, and TNT cable channels. The division also operat ...

. On November 9, 2024, during the

's broadcast of the WTA Finals in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, Wertheim made a joking comment about

Barbora Krejčíková Barbora Krejčíková (; born 18 December 1995) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles by the Wome ...

's appearance, unaware he was broadcasting on air with a

hot mic A hot mic, sometimes referred to as an open microphone or (in aviation) a stuck mic, is in general an apparent error in which a microphone is switched on or remains on, especially without the speaker realizing. A special case of hot mic is the ...

. The following day, he was suspended by the Tennis Channel. In response to his comment, Krejcikova posted her reaction on social media and Wertheim publicly apologized to her. He returned on air to Tennis Channel on January 6, 2025.

Awards

2023 Nominee

75th Writers Guild of America Awards The 75th Writers Guild of America Awards were held on March 5, 2023, to honor the best writing in film, television and radio of 2022. The nominees for television and radio were announced on January 11, 2023, while the nominees for the film catego ...

"The Longest Running Oil Spill" – ''

'' (

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

) Shared with Oriana Zill de Granados 2022 Recipient

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

Special Award Eugene L. Scott Award for communicating honestly and critically about the game, and having a significant impact on the world of tennis. 2020 Nominee

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

Outstanding Arts, Culture and Entertainment Report "A Central Ally/The Lost Music" ''

'' (

) Shared with Katherine Davis and Bill Owens 2019 Nominee

Sports Emmy Awards The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports E ...

Outstanding Sports Long Documentary "Strokes of Genius" Shared with: Ken Solomon · Angus Wall · Linda Carlson · Paul Davies · Mick Desmond · Justin Falvey · Darryl Frank · Bob Whyley · Andrew Douglas

Personal life and education

Wertheim lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with his wife and their two children. He has an undergraduate degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wertheim, Jon Jewish American sportswriters Sportswriters from Indiana Living people Writers from Bloomington, Indiana Tennis writers Yale University alumni 1970 births Jews from Indiana University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Sports Illustrated people CBS News people