Category: John McEnroe

John McEnroe Stands by Controversial Comments on Emma Raducanu

Tennis legend and star broadcaster John McEnroe has stood by his controversial comments on Brit teen Emma Raducanu. Talking to CNN during a recent broadcast, McEnroe mentioned that he stands by everything mentioned earlier. 

McEnroe previously suggested — after Raducanu pulled out of Wimbledon in July, due to breathing issues — that the pressure of her grand slam debut “just got a little bit too much” for the rising star.

“I tried to relate it in a small way to my experience when I first went to Wimbledon also at 18,” McEnroe said about his 1977 four-set loss to Jimmy Connors in the semi-finals.

“(Raducanu) did better than I did. I played Jimmy Connors, I hadn’t been on the Centre Court and I remember my legs shaking, feeling totally overwhelmed by the experience and almost happy that I didn’t win.”

“Subsequently, I went to Stanford for a year (after Wimbledon) and had some time to sort of regroup mentally and prepare for the rigors of the tour,” said McEnroe, who in 1978 led the Stanford team to a college championship and won the NCAA singles title.

“There’s a lot of great upsides, but there’s also pressure you put on yourself and expectations others put on you. I mean, that was to me as vanilla as it comes … I was very supportive of her, I thought, at the time.

“You know the papers over in England. Sometimes they make a big deal out of, to me, nothing,

“I don’t think you could possibly do it any better than she did it (at the US Open). That’s insane she’s been able to do this. Of course, pressure comes with that, expectation comes with that. I’m sure she expects to win a lot more moving forward.”

In his previous comments, McEnroe had mentioned that “It appears it just got a little bit too much, as is understandable, particularly with what we’ve been talking about this over the last six weeks with (Naomi) Osaka not even here,” he said in July. “How much can players handle? It makes you look at the guys that have been around and the girls for so long. How well they can handle it.” 

With her recent win in New York, Raducanu has climbed the ATP tour rankings from No. 336 in the world to 150. She is one of the top rising stars in the game today. 

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWU8N1hLhwQ

John McEnroe Backs Serena in Row with Dominic Thiem

John McEnroe, the ‘self-appointed commissioner of Tennis,’ has come to the defense of Serena Williams over the incident that happened in a post match press conference at the French Open. 

Dominic Thiem, the Austrian world number 4, was booted outside of the press room when Serena Williams walked into the press room for her interview. 

Thiem was extremely furious at being asked to step out of the press room for Serena, and said that the American star had a very bad personality. McEnroe was not happy with this situation and decided to share his thoughts on the matter. 

McEnroe, in a recent interview, has mentioned that he thinks the whole scenario has been blown out of proportion by those in the media. 

“It also gives me an opportunity to show how easy it is to engineer fake news and manipulate people’s opinions. Fact: Dominic Thiem was kicked out of the main press room in the middle of his media duties to make way for Serena Williams. Fact: Thiem was less than pleased about it. With these two facts, the social media public court was quick to deliver a verdict: “How can she do that? Does she have no shame? Who does she think she is?” ‘It was not only the usual hateful trolls who voiced their discontent. In fact, the mainstream media started to weigh in on it. See, there is something on the internet and they immediately start to report on it and voice an opinion. Yes, an opinion! Whatever happened to the fundamental rule of journalism? Three independent sources should confirm the fact, and then – only then – can you report on it,” said McEnroe during a recent interview. 

He went on to say, “but here’s the problem: They didn’t have all their facts straight. Little known but true fact: Serena Williams had actually asked for a smaller room so that she could be done with it. But somehow the organizers insisted she hold the press conference in the main room where Thiem was at the time. ‘A smaller room was available because that’s where Thiem ended up. When Serena was made aware that they had to move the Austrian to make room for her she was heard saying: “Whoah, that’s rude!” Yes it was. See this is not a tiny detail. It changes the whole f***ing story. Serena’s not a diva who can’t wait two minutes. She’s the victim of a screw up by the organization, and so is Thiem. ‘I know a lot of journalists who should eat a good slice of humble pie after this one.”

The facts by McEnroe appear dodgy and not in congruence with what was the reality. Williams did not want to be sent into a second conference room, she wanted to be in the area where Dominic Thiem was holding his press conference. She even told a tournament official that ‘woah you’re very rude’ when he asked her to shift rooms. 

The only victim here is Dominic Thiem, and he needs justice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFYkgpC8UCE