Questions, Please! Students Quiz Challenger Stars In Indian Wells

Last week, the stars of the ATP Challenger Tour descended on Indian Wells for the Oracle Challenger Series finale. It was another picture perfect week in the California desert, with players and fans treated to world-class tennis in one of the most scenic settings on tour.

But the Challenger competitors weren’t the only ones testing their talents at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. During the tournament, six high school kids from local communities put the players to the test, holding press conferences throughout the day on quarter-final Friday. Noah Rubin, semi-finalist Lloyd Harris and doubles finalists JC Aragone and Marcos Giron were quizzed by the kids in individual interviews.

It was a unique experience for not only the four aspiring journalists, who were given the opportunity to ask questions in the main interview room, but for the players as well. For Rubin, Harris, Aragone and Giron, sitting on the podium at an ATP Masters 1000 venue does not come often, and the quartet relished the opportunity.

“It was fun to sit around some kids who are interested in journalism and want to ask me questions,” Rubin told ATPChallengerTour.com. “Their questions were even better than some seasoned members of the media. It was fun to be around them. 

“I’ve done it before, but never questions of interest like that. They prepared them in advance and I tried to give pretty good answers and have a conversation. It was a good time. They were interested in my mentality off the court, which is different. Everyone asks the usual tennis questions but they were going a little deeper than that. It’s nice to see from their generation.”

The students visited the tournament as part of ‘High School Nation’, an organisation that supports the arts and athletic programs in underserved public schools. The HSN Journalism program provides the opportunity to introduce aspiring journalists and broadcasters to professional athletes across the country. 

Four of the students sought to explore their passion in journalism, asking the hard-hitting questions, while two others assisted with video production of the press conference.