Steve Flink is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

sports journalist and historian. Flink, who has been a columnist and editor with such magazines as ''World Tennis Magazine'', ''

Tennis Week Tennis Week was an American sports magazine owned by media conglomerate IMG covering the world of tennis. History Founded in 1974 by Eugene L. Scott, a former US Davis Cup player who was ranked within the world top 15. In December 2004, ''Tenn ...

'' and ''Tennis Channel'' and published two monographs on the history of tennis, in 2017 was elected to the

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, grass tennis courts, an ind ...

in the Contributor category. Flink was born in the New York City and became a fan of tennis in 1965, at age 12, when his father Stanley took the boy to the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pl ...

. Later the same year Steve for the first time watched the US National Championships in New York. Flink himself recalls that as 15 years old he has already decided to become a tennis reporter. While still a boy, he also developed an interest in sports statistics. In 1970, Flink moved to England where he began studying at the U.S. International University in Sussex. During his college years, he took part in student tennis competitions, showing remarkable consistence and "well rounded game" according to the team brochures. His father introduced him to future

Bud Collins Arthur Worth "Bud" Collins Jr. (June 17, 1929 – March 4, 2016) was an American journalist and television sportscaster, best known for his tennis commentary. Collins was married to photographer Anita Ruthling Klaussen. Education Collins was b ...

and John Barrett. In 1972 Collins, who was aware of Steve's flair for statistics and historical facts, hired the youth to help him at Wimbledon and the US Open. Steve was feeding Collins various facts and statistics during his reportages. The same year Flink first met

Jack Kramer John Albert Kramer (August 1, 1921 – September 12, 2009) was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s. He won three Grand Slam tournaments (the U.S. Championships in 1946 and 1947, Wimbledon in 1947). He led the U.S. Davis Cup tennis ...

, who later became one of his mentors. In 1973 Flink interviewed

Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record s ...

and sold the story to the ''World Tennis Magazine''. After publishing another story in 1974 in the same magazine he was offered a permanent job by its owner

Gladys Heldman Gladys Medalie Heldman (May 13, 1922 – June 22, 2003) was an American tennis player, manager and magazine publisher. She was the founder of ''World Tennis'' magazine. As a manager, she supported and represented Billie Jean King and eight other f ...

. Flink's collaboration with ''World Tennis'' continued until 1991, and he took the positions of a columnist and an editor with this magazine. Since 1982 he has also covered the Wimbledon Championships and the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...

for

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broa ...

(where he worked for more than 25 years), in 1970s and 1980s worked as a statistician for CBS,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

telecasts and in 1980–1996 was a color commentator for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and

MSG Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer with ...

. From 1992 to 2007 Flink was a senior correspondent for ''

'', and since 2007 he works as a columnist for the online magazine ''Tennis Channel''. As a tennis historian, Flink wrote two reputable monographs: ''The Greatest Tennis Matches of the 20th Century'' and ''The Greatest Tennis Matches of All-Time''. In addition, for 12 years he was creating biographical portraits of players for John Barrett's annual book ''World of Tennis''. Since 1994 he has been a consultant and writer for the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and later a member of this organization's Nominating Committee Colleagues commend Steve Flink's journalistic work for its eloquence and commitment to facts, also noting his general charm as a person. In 2010, he was inducted into the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in New York, and in 2017 he was elected in a Contributor category to the International Tennis Hall of Fame together with

Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...

Kim Clijsters Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles ...

, the late coach

Vic Braden Victor Kenneth Braden Jr. (August 2, 1929 – October 6, 2014) was an American tennis player, instructor and television broadcaster for the sport. He earned a PhD in psychology and was married twice. He had 2 children, 1 grandchild and 3 st ...

and the wheelchair tennis champion

Monique Kalkman-Van Den Bosch Monique Kalkman-Van den Bosch (born 28 November 1964) is a Dutch former professional wheelchair tennis and table tennis player. Monique competed at the Paralympics in 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. In 2017, she was inducted into the International T ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flink, Steve 1950s births Living people Year of birth uncertain American sports journalists Tennis commentators Sportswriters from New York (state) International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees