Tom Barnes was a regular at the Rolex Shanghai Masters and his passing at the age of 82 will leave quite a dent across the entire tennis tour. The gruff exterior he showed belied one of the nicest men in tennis. He was reserved and funny and always available to have a chat and laugh.
The first time Tom came to Shanghai was in 1999 when the tournament was a smaller 250 level event and was played near Hongqiao. He was also on hand for the Tennis Masters Cup and was a fixture as an ATP Supervisor from when the tournament became the Rolex Shanghai Masters, a prestigious ATP Masters 1000. He attended a total of 14 tournaments in Shanghai, the last time was in 2019.
"Tom was a personal friend and a great friend of the Rolex Shanghai Masters," Tournament Director Michael Luevano said. "He was highly respected. He was a larger-than-life personality and a very funny man with some of the stories he related. We will all miss him from the tour and in particular when the Rolex Shanghai Masters comes around every October."
RIP Tom Barnes, you were one of a kind. Thank you.
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