Ken Meyerson, 47, who died last week in his sleep, always referred to the tennis agent business as our “little world.”
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Meyerson, best known for representing Andy Roddick, had a long history in tennis. |
Cognizant that making a living by earning commissions off endorsements and tennis exhibitions was not easy and that pro tennis in the United States was in decline, Meyerson never shied from the fact that his business was tough. He was best known for his representation of Andy Roddick, but he also represented Michael Stich, Mardy Fish and Justine Henin, to name a few.
His history in tennis was deep. He worked for industry standard bearer ProServ and later SFX Sports, where he ran tennis. More recently, when he moved two years ago from BEST, where he was the group’s tennis head, to French conglomerate Lagardère, it launched the latter’s sports agency business and ultimately fueled the sale of BEST to Lagardère.
Meyerson was a president at the sports group, Lagardère Unlimited.
Among his last tweets, in a message posted Oct. 1, he congratulated client Agnieszka Radwanska for winning an event. During the U.S. Open, he had negotiated a shoe and apparel deal for her with Lotto.
John Tobias, who managed the tennis division at Lagardère Unlimited with Meyerson, said there was no indication of illness and that the apparent heart attack was a total surprise. The day before he died, Tobias was on the phone with Meyerson for three hours.
“He was a big personality and was loved by so many people,” Tobias said.
Meyerson is survived by his wife, Claudia, and daughters Charlotte, 17, and Emily, 2.
