Henley, who played tennis for Rice University (right down the road from River Oaks), has become one of the preeminent emcees in the sport, conducting on-court interviews at many U.S.-based tournaments. Magnetic in her own way, she’s ascended in part because of the relationships she’s cultivated with players from their earliest days on tour.
“It’s been something that’s really meaningful to me,” Henley tells me during a rare break in her day. “For whatever reason, I’ve worked many of the 250s in the U.S., and as a result, I get to see a lot of the American men when they first start out. Francis, Tommy [Paul], Taylor [Fritz], Reilly [Opelka]—many of those guys, they might have done some of their first interviews with me, which has been a neat starting point for really nice relationships.”
Given Tiafoe’s success in the States, he and Henley regularly meet up in front of the camera. From his breakthrough in Delray Beach to deep runs in Cincinnati and the US Open to three consecutive finals in Houston, Tiafoe is a blue-chip stock for American tournament directors, filling stadiums and enthralling fans.
But for as often as they interact, Henley is never quite certain what she’s going to get from the gregarious marquee attraction. It keeps them both on their toes, in a good way.
“I remember this very clearly, when I first got to know Frances as an on-court interviewer, he would ask me questions,” says Henley. “He is also invested in the other person.
“Oftentimes with professional athletes, they sort of have blinders on—understandably so. But one of the things I think Frances does so well—and the reason people relate to him so much—is because he is actually looking at the person he’s speaking to. He was like, ‘Where are you from? How’d you start doing this?’ Questions that I was not normally getting from professional athletes.”
