For Tennys Sandgren, Success Brings Scrutiny of His Political Views

MELBOURNE, Australia — Thirteen times Tennys Sandgren tried to qualify for a Grand Slam tournament. Thirteen times he failed.

At the Australian Open, he had never even made it to the final round of qualifying in his five attempts. He got into last year’s French Open and United States Open through wild cards.

“Losing in qualies is awful,” Sandgren, 26, said in an interview late Monday night. “It’s one of the worst experiences I’ve had professionally, and I’ve had it a lot of times.”

He is now having his best experience professionally, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7), 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem on Monday. He will face Hyeon Chung on Wednesday for a spot in the semifinals.
This was the first time Sandgren’s ranking, No. 97, was high enough to enter the main draw directly, and his unexpected success has had some unwanted repercussions.

He said his mother, Lia, broke a rib and took a blow to the head last week after falling during a group celebration while watching one of his matches with friends at home in Tennessee.

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“They were jumping up and down,” Sandgren said. “She fell onto the pool table, cracked a rib. Whoops. I was pretty worried.”

He said his mother was now resting comfortably at home: “watching some tennis and having a good time.”
Sandgren’s social media activity has also come under scrutiny as his profile has risen at this tournament. On Monday night at his post-match news conference, he was asked about online exchanges he has had with right-wing activists. On Jan. 14, he retweeted a video on Twitter posted by Nicholas Fuentes, a young alt-right commentator and a former host of a podcast called “America First.” (Fuentes retweeted support for Sandgren on Monday.)

In November 2016, shortly after the presidential election, Sandgren seemed to support debunked online reports of children being kidnapped, molested and trafficked in a Washington pizzeria as part of a sex-abuse ring connected to Hillary Clinton.

“It’s sickening and the collective evidence is too much to ignore,” Sandgren posted in a Twitter conversation.

On Monday night, Sandgren’s coach, Jim Madrigal, who was at the news conference, initially tried to shut down the inquiry about Sandgren’s political views, saying, “This is the Australian Open.”