Meet Mike Cation, the hardest working man in tennis

If you ever find yourself at an ATP Challenger event in the United States, find the commentators booth, and give the man with the microphone an almond milk latte with an extra shot, and a pump of peppermint syrup. He needs it.

Arguably the hardest working man in tennis, Mike Cation provides first-ball to last-ball commentary for the USTA Pro Circuit livestream. First-ball to last-ball, start to finish—  keep in mind tennis has no time limit, so neither does Cation’s day at the office.

This week at the RBC Championships in Dallas, Cation has been calling SEVEN matches a day. It’s a hellacious amount of work, by anyone’s standards, but he wouldn’t change a thing.

“Days like this are actually why I love my job the most.  Seven matches in a day means long hours, sure, but it also means 14 stories to tell.  At the Challenger level, and especially on the USTA Pro Circuit, a broadcaster gets an opportunity to interact with the players on a much more personal level.  I'm lucky that many of them have let me in, told me what makes them tick, what they enjoy off the court, and then how they want to succeed on it,” Cation told Baseline.com.

Nobody knows more about the ATP Challenger tour. Already endless source of information, Cation never stops learning.

“I learn something new literally every match, without a doubt.  And hopefully, we can make that translate over to the viewers, so they're thinking about tennis in a different way as well.”

Many tennis fans will put on the livestream at work and listen to Cation’s broadcast like an endless radio show.

“It's been so important for the players at the Challenger level to have the USTA Pro Circuit stream these matches since 2011 for the exposure. Tennis Channel jumping on board the last couple of years has been such a boon for us too. It's gotten more fans out to these events, as well as more interest and understanding of players outside of the top 50.”

Unlike some broadcasters, Cation is extremely generous with his time, and welcomes fan questions and between-match conversations. His primary goal is to grow the sport and provide exposure for the players, many of them struggling to make a living, despite being ranked top-200 in the world.

But more than anything, Cation is a tennis fan, and that makes his job easier.  “At the end of the day, the tennis is just unbelievably good.”

You can find Cation calling matches here, as well as on his podcast, The Coffee Cast with Mike Cation and Noah Rubin.