Christopher Clarey

Christopher Clarey (born 1964 or 1965) is an American sports journalist and author who mostly writes about tennis. He reported for The New York Times from 1991 to 2023. His biography of Roger Federer, The Master, was published in 2021.

Early life and education
Clarey was born in Newport, Rhode Island, to Bonnie Clarey and US Rear Admiral Stephen Clarey. His grandfather was Admiral Bernard "Chick" Clarey. Being in a military family, he moved often in his youth. He attended Punahou School in Honolulu from seventh to ninth grade at the same time that Barack Obama went to the school. He graduated from Coronado High School in California, where he played tennis and soccer and wrote for the student newspaper. He went to Williams College in Massachusetts, where he played tennis, soccer, and volleyball, and received his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English and history in 1986.

Career
Clarey started his journalism career as an intern at The San Diego Union-Tribune, where he covered local sports, including the National Football League (NFL)'s Chargers. In 1991, he moved to Paris to work as a freelance reporter.

Later that year, he secured his first byline in The New York Times—a profile of the French ice dance siblings Paul and Isabelle Duchesnay—after his former editor at the Union-Tribune recommended him to the Times sports editor. He continued to write for the Times and, in 1998, became the chief sports correspondent for its sister publication, the International Herald Tribune. The London Times said in 2021 that Clarey "has a claim to be the doyen of English-language tennis journalism".

The Master, a biography of Roger Federer by Clarey, was published on August 24, 2021, as Federer's tennis career came to an end. Clarey had followed Federer closely for the entirety of his career and reportedly interviewed Federer more than any other journalist. Contemporary reviews in The London Times called The Master the best book on Federer written so far.

In May 2023, Clarey announced that he was leaving the Times to focus on writing books and to launch a Substack newsletter, Christopher Clarey's Tennis & Beyond. His upcoming book project is The Warrior, a biography of Rafael Nadal.

Personal life
Clarey married his wife, Virginie, in Paris in 1991.

Awards

 * Alan Trengove Award for Excellence in Tennis Journalism (2017)
 * Eugene L. Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame (2018)