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The tennis player Snoop Dogg once labelled ‘the truth’

Originally posted on HITC | By Cameron Greenlees | Last updated Dec 12, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Like many big-name celebrities, Snoop Dogg is an avid tennis fan.

The famous rapper has been spotted at some of the biggest events over the years and was sitting next to Billie Jean King at the Paris Olympics, watching Novak Djokovic’s last match against Rafael Nadal.

In 2004, Snoop Dogg was asked in an interview to name a sport he was into that most people wouldn’t have imagined.

He answered tennis, and then proceeded to name his favourite player, whom he labelled ‘the truth’.

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Snoop Dogg said that Ivan Lendl was ‘the truth’ back in 2004

As per the BBC in May that year, Snoop Dogg said: “I used to like Ivan Lendl. He was sharp.

“An old schooler. Make it happen and roll out. Now I like Venus and Serena, but Ivan was the truth.”

Ivan Lendl won a total of 94 tour-level titles throughout his career, eight of which he picked up at Grand Slams.

Lendl clinched two Australian Open crowns, three French Open championships and three-peated at the US Open from 1985 to 1987.

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He came close to achieving the Career Grand Slam, having reached the Wimbledon final two times in a row in 1986 and 1987, but suffered near misses on both occasions.

After his playing days, he became a coach, and was in Andy Murray’s corner during the most successful period of the Briton’s career.

Ivan Lendl’s coaching success with Andy Murray

Lendl was first appointed by Murray in December 2011, and he quickly guided him to his first two Grand Slam titles.

He helped him clinch a maiden major at the US Open in 2012, and in 2013, Murray ended the 77-year-long wait for a British men’s singles champion at Wimbledon.

The two parted ways in 2014, but Murray reappointed Lendl in June 2016, before going on to win Wimbledon for the second time and claim world number one status.

Lendl had a brief spell with Alexander Zverev from 2018 to 2019, but the two ultimately split due to personal differences.

The Czech-born American rejoined Murray again in 2022 to help the Scot in the twilight of his career, before splitting for a third time in 2023.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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