With dedication to and passion for her craft, Abigail Johnson has built a tennis broadcasting career

Abigail Johnson caught the same tennis bug that most did as children. Watching the beautiful game on television, she witnessed superstars defying the laws of physics with their prowess, and found true joy in the sport itself. Johnson has since been a fixture on the tennis scene for several years, despite being on this planet for less than three decades.

Her story is the one of dedication to a craft and self-belief. She simply would not be denied in her pursuit of a career in tennis broadcasting, and she did everything in her power to arrive at this point, with a standout reputation on television, radio and as an emcee.

Fresh off of her debut on Tennis Channel’s T2 airwaves, Johnson joined the Inside-In Podcast to converse about her journey, the current landscape of the pro game, why she remains passionate about her profession.

Johsnon's journey to the broadcast booth started when she fell in love with the game as a child in Great Britain. Tennis captured her heart, and by the time she was a teenager it was all she dreamed of doing as adult. She got her foot in the door, became educated in several skills, and then grinded to gain experience and exposure in the industry. She made sacrifices such as using her university holiday time to work small events for little reward in the short term.

“I put those holidays to good use. I was on-site at events, I was volunteering at ITF events. I was doing social media, I was writing interviews. I was doing whatever I could to keep myself in those circles and around the game. And very much in areas where I could learn,” Johnson explained.

“My joy above all others comes from radio commentary. It’s rooted in the fact that I like to talk a lot, that is put to good use. But you are the eyes of the listener, and the description. You paint the picture.”

As a British national, Johnson was on the ground floor for the rise of Emma Raducanu. Johnson covered her in the early stages of her playing career, before she became a British legend and worldwide phenomenon as the first qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam title at the 2021 US Open.

“Emma had a way of hitting the ball and a court awareness that for her age stood out,” the broadcaster recalled of Raducanu’s early days. “This is her best shot at a reset. Having just been out and had the surgeries, ranking drops, expectation drops because people are finally starting to understand that she had a meteoric rise. She didn’t climb every rung of the ladder.”

Like many areas in tennis, Johnson has a big-picture viewpoint for the 2021 US Open champion’s future.

She always had a talent level, she always had potential. And the way things went after the US Open, I think people have lost appreciation for that. She’s a great tennis player.”

While the pro game has several standout players and storylines, Johnson was specifically excited to talk about one player on the latest episode of our podcast. Holger Rune has been going through a tough time, relative to his hyper-competitiveness and the high standards the talented Danish player has set for himself. Johnson has a better understanding than most of Rune’s mindset, his desire to succeed at all costs, and why it can be extremely frustrating when the results you desire do not occur.

“The pressure for the likes of Holger Rune, for Rune himself, that comes from within. He can be his own worst enemy in that department,” the commentator explained. “I like Rune. I think I relate to him in a way that other people can’t, because in my own field I have that all-in passion, that to some people doesn’t look sustainable.”

Johnson also understands the Rune’s frustration but is still optimistic that is time will come.

“For someone that competitive and that talented and that good, it’s going to come together for him. It’s just a question of when it does.”

Johnson covers a lot of ground on this podcast, from the youth movement sweeping tennis to Iga Swiatek’s ability to grow nicely into the role of being the best player in the world. She’s a young person but a consummate professional, and somebody that puts the work in, day in and day out. It doesn’t matter what role she is in, and it doesn’t matter which company is on the microphone flag she’s holding: Johnson attacks every day with the same singular passion, and she loves what she does.

“I’m so grateful to get to do what I love,” she professed at the end of our chat. “Even if there are some kind of tougher outings, there’s never a day that I’m not grateful.”

hat role of being the best player in the world. She’s a young person but a consummate professional, and somebody that puts the work in day-in and day-out. It doesn’t matter what role she is in, and it doesn’t matter which company is on the microphone flag she’s holding. Abigail Johnson attacks every day with the same singular passion, and she loves what she does.

“I’m so grateful to get to do what I love,” she professed at the end of our chat. “Even if there are some kind of tougher outings, there’s never a day that I’m not grateful.”