John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's
singles by the
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to p ...
(ATP) for 170 weeks, and as world No. 1 in men's
doubles for 269 weeks (
third-most of all time). He is one of two male players (alongside
Stefan Edberg
Jan Stefan Edberg (; born 19 January 1966) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in both men's singles and men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), one of two players in the ...
) to have held both No. 1 rankings, and the only one to hold both simultaneously. McEnroe was best known during his playing career for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with
Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 109 weeks. Borg won 66 singles titles during his caree ...
and
Jimmy Connors
James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 2 ...
, and his confrontational on-court behavior, which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities.
McEnroe won an
Open Era
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today a ...
record 155 career titles: 77 in singles and 78 in doubles. This includes seven singles
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
s (four at the
US Open and three at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
), nine men's doubles majors, and one mixed doubles major. McEnroe is the only male player to win more than 70 titles in both singles and doubles. His singles match record of 82–3 in 1984 remains the
best single-season win rate of the Open Era. McEnroe also excelled at the year-end tournaments, winning
eight singles and
seven doubles titles, both of which are records. Three of his winning singles year-end championships were at the
Masters Grand Prix (the ATP year-end event) and five were at the
World Championship Tennis (WCT) Finals, an event that ended in 1989. He was named the
ATP Player of the Year and the
ITF World Champion three times each: in 1981, 1983 and 1984.
McEnroe contributed to five
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
titles for the U.S. and later was team captain. He has stayed active in retirement, often competing in senior events on the
ATP Champions Tour, where he has won 25 titles. He also works as a television commentator during the majors.
Early life
McEnroe was born in
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
,
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, to American parents, John Patrick McEnroe and his wife Kay ().
[McEnroe, with Kaplan, 2002, ''Serious'', pp. 17–18.] His father, the son of
Irish immigrants, was at the time stationed with the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
(USAF), once revealing during a press conference in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
that his son 'John was made in Belgium but born in Germany.'
McEnroe's Irish paternal grandfather was from
Ballyjamesduff
Ballyjamesduff () is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. A former market town, it was the winner of the 1966 and 1967 Irish Tidy Towns Competition.
History
The first mention of Ballyjamesduff is found in The Registry of Deeds, Kings Inns, Henriett ...
in
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...
and his grandmother was from
County Westmeath
County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
.
When John was about nine months old his father was transferred back to the US, and the family relocated to
Stewart Air Force Base in
Newburgh, New York
Newburgh is a City (New York), city in Orange County, New York, United States. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area. ...
. After leaving the service, McEnroe's father worked as an advertising agent while attending
Fordham Law School
Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city.
According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...
at night. In 1961 the family moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, settling in
Flushing,
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
. Two years later it shifted to the nearby neighborhood of
Douglaston.
John has two younger brothers: Mark (born 1964) and former professional tennis player
Patrick (born 1966).
McEnroe began playing tennis at the Douglaston Club when he was eight. At nine, his parents enrolled him in the Eastern Lawn Tennis Association, followed by competing in regional tournaments, then national juniors tournaments. By twelve he was ranked seventh in his age group, and joined the
Port Washington Tennis Academy on
Long Island, New York
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
. McEnroe attended
Trinity School in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, graduating in 1977.
Career
McEnroe began to make his mark as an 18-year-old amateur in 1977. He won both the Junior singles and
mixed doubles
Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis, and badminton (where it is known ...
titles at the
French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, partnering with
Mary Carillo in the latter. He later progressed through the singles qualifying tournament at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
and into the main draw, where he lost in the semifinals to
Jimmy Connors
James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 2 ...
in four sets. It was the best performance by a male qualifier at any
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
, and a record performance by an amateur in the
Open era
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today a ...
.
After Wimbledon, McEnroe was recruited by coach
Dick Gould
Dick Gould is an American tennis coach. He was the Men's Tennis Coach at Stanford University for 38 years from 1966 to 2004. His Stanford men's tennis teams won 17 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships, and 50 of his players won All-American honors ...
and entered
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. In 1978 he won the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
singles title, and he led the Stanford team to an NCAA championship. Later that year he joined the
ATP tour and signed his first professional
endorsement Endorsement (alternatively spelled "indorsement") may refer to a:
* testimonial, a written or spoken statement promoting or advertising a product
* political endorsement, publicly declaring support for a candidate
* form added to an insurance poli ...
deal, with
Sergio Tacchini. He again advanced to the semifinals at a major, this time the
US Open, losing again to Connors. In all, McEnroe won five titles in 1978, including his first
Masters Grand Prix, beating
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first Black player selected ...
in straight sets, as well as Grand Prix events at Stockholm and Wembley. His late-season success allowed him to finish as the year-end world No. 4 player.
1979–83
In 1979, McEnroe and partner
Peter Fleming won the
Wimbledon men's doubles title, followed shortly by a win in the
US Open doubles. That same week, McEnroe won the
singles US Open title, his first major singles title. He defeated his friend
Vitas Gerulaitis
Vytautas "Vitas" Kevin Gerulaitis (July 26, 1954 – September 17, 1994) was an American professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1978. Gerulaitis won the men's si ...
in straight-sets in the final to become the youngest male winner of the singles title at the US Open since
Pancho Gonzales, who was also 20 in 1948. McEnroe also won the prestigious season-ending
WCT Finals, beating
Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 109 weeks. Borg won 66 singles titles during his caree ...
in four sets. McEnroe won 10 singles and 17 doubles titles that year for a total of 27 titles, an Open Era record, finishing at No. 3 in the year-end world singles rankings.
At
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
in 1980, McEnroe reached the
singles final for the first time, where he faced
Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 109 weeks. Borg won 66 singles titles during his caree ...
, who was seeking his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. At the start of the final, McEnroe was booed by the crowd as he entered
Centre Court
Centre Court is a tennis court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (also known as the All England Club) and is the main court used in the Wimbledon Championships, the third annual Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar. It is consi ...
, following heated exchanges with officials during his semifinal victory over
Jimmy Connors
James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 2 ...
. In a fourth-set tiebreaker that lasted 20 minutes, McEnroe saved five championship points en route to an 18–16 win. McEnroe, however, could not break Borg's serve in the fifth set, which he dropped 8–6. This match was voted the third greatest open era Wimbledon men's singles final in a BBC poll in 2020.
Two months later McEnroe bested Borg in the five-set final of the
1980 US Open. He was a finalist at the season-ending WCT Finals, and finished as the world No. 2 ranked player behind Borg.

McEnroe remained controversial when he returned to
Wimbledon in 1981. Following his first-round match against
Tom Gullikson
Tom Gullikson (born September 8, 1951) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player born in La Crosse, Wisconsin and raised in Onalaska, Wisconsin in the United States.
Career
During his career as a player, Gullikson won 15 ATP recogn ...
, McEnroe was fined U.S. $1,500 and came close to being ejected after he called umpire
Ted James "the pits of the world" and then swore at tournament referee
Fred Hoyles. He also made famous the phrase "you cannot be serious", which years later became the title of
his autobiography, by shouting it after several umpires' calls during his matches. This behavior was in sharp contrast to that of his
then-rival Borg, who was painted by the press as an unflappable "Ice Man". However, in matches against Borg, McEnroe notably never lost his temper.
After the controversy and criticism from the British press (earning him the nickname "SuperBrat" from Ian Barnes of the ''
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
''), McEnroe again reached the Wimbledon men's singles final against Borg. McEnroe prevailed in four sets, ending the Swede's run of 41 consecutive match victories at the
All England Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Gr ...
. American TV commentator
Bud Collins quipped after the match (which took place on the United States'
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
), paraphrasing "
Yankee Doodle
"Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state song of the U.S. ...
", "Stick a feather in his cap and call it 'McEnroe-ni'!".
In response to McEnroe's on-court outbursts during the Championships, the All England Club declined to accord McEnroe honorary club membership, an honor normally given to singles champions after their first victory. McEnroe responded by not attending the traditional champions' dinner that evening. The honor was eventually granted McEnroe as a repeat champion.
Borg and McEnroe had their final confrontation in the final of the
1981 US Open. McEnroe won in four sets, becoming the first man since the 1920s to win three consecutive US Open singles titles. Borg never played another major. McEnroe also won his second
WCT Final, beating
Johan Kriek
Johan Christiaan Kriek (born April 5, 1958) is a South African–American former professional tennis player. As a tennis player, he won two Australian Open titles and reached the semifinals at the French Open and US Open, as well as the quarte ...
in straight sets and finished the year as the number one ranked player. He was named the
Associated Press Athlete of the Year
The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women's sports, women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of th ...
, the second men's tennis player to receive the honor after
Don Budge
John Donald Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis player. He is most famous as the first tennis player — male or female — to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year and complete the Grand Slam. Budge was ...
in the 1930s.
McEnroe lost only one set going into the final of
Wimbledon 1982. However, he lost to Connors in the final, despite being a tiebreak from victory at the end of the fourth set. He then fell in the semifinals at the
US Open and was runner-up at the WCT Finals. He was able to retain the ATP's world No. 1 ranking based on points at the end of the year, having won significant events at Philadelphia, Wembley, and Tokyo; but due to Connors's victories at the two most important events of the year (Wimbledon and the US Open), Connors was named the Player of the Year by the ATP and most other tennis authorities.
In 1983, McEnroe reached his fourth consecutive
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
final, dropping only one set en route, and swept aside the unheralded
Chris Lewis in straight sets for his second Wimbledon crown. At the
US Open, he was defeated in the fourth round, his earliest exit since 1977. He then played at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
for the first time, reaching the semifinals before being defeated in four sets by
Mats Wilander
Mats Arne Olof Wilander (; born 22 August 1964) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...
. He made the
WCT Final for the third time and beat
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player and coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis ...
in an epic five-setter. He took the
Masters Grand Prix title for the second time, again beating Lendl in straight sets. He also won prized events at Philadelphia, Forest Hills, and Wembley, enabling him to capture the year-end No. 1 ranking once again.
1984: best season
McEnroe's best season came in 1984, as he compiled an 82–3 match record that remains the
highest single-season win rate of the Open Era. He won a career-best 13 singles tournaments, including
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
and the
US Open, capturing the year-end No. 1 ranking. He also played on the winning US
World Team Cup
The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...
and runner-up
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
teams.
McEnroe began the year with a 42-match win streak, winning his first six tournaments and reaching his first
French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
final, where his opponent was Ivan Lendl. McEnroe won the first two sets, but Lendl's adjustments of using more topspin lobs and cross-court backhand passing shots, as well as McEnroe's fatigue and temperamental outbursts, resulted in a demoralizing five-set loss. In his autobiography, McEnroe described this as his most bitter defeat and implied that he's never quite gotten over it.
He rebounded at Wimbledon, losing just one set en route to his third Wimbledon singles title. This included a straight-set rout over Jimmy Connors in the final. He then won his fourth US Open title, defeating Lendl in straight sets in the final, after defeating Connors in a five-set semifinal. He also won his fourth
WCT Final, defeating Connors in straight sets, and took his third
Masters Grand Prix, beating Lendl in straight sets. His combined record against the number 2 and 3 ranked players for the year, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, respectively, was 11–1, only losing to Lendl at the French Open and going undefeated versus Connors in five matches.
The year did not end without controversy. While playing and winning the tournament in Stockholm, McEnroe had an on-court outburst that soon became notorious. After questioning a call made by the chair umpire, McEnroe demanded, "Answer my question! The question, jerk!" McEnroe then slammed his racquet into a juice cart beside the court in anger, and the stadium crowd booed him. He was suspended for 3 weeks (21 days) for exceeding a $7,500 limit on fines that had been levied due to his behavior.
As a result, he was disqualified from competing in the following week's significant Wembley (London) Indoor tournament, at which he was supposed to be the number one seed, with Connors and Lendl (the eventual winner) as the second and third seeds. During his suspension, he injured his left wrist in practice, causing him to withdraw from the
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
.
Taking time off
In 1985, having reached the semifinals at the French Open, McEnroe was beaten in straight sets by
Kevin Curren
Kevin Melvyn Curren (born 2 March 1958) is a South African former professional tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 in July 19 ...
in the quarterfinals of
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
. He reached his last major singles final at the
US Open; this time, he was beaten in straight sets by Lendl. He did not advance past the quarterfinals at the WCT Finals or the Masters Grand Prix. He did win important events at Philadelphia (his fourth straight there), Canada (second straight) and Stockholm (second straight and fourth overall) and finished the year as the world No. 2 ranked player.
In 1986, McEnroe took a six-month break from the tour. This meant he would miss Wimbledon. It was during this sabbatical that on August 1, 1986, he married actress
Tatum O'Neal
Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress. At the age of 10, she became the youngest person ever to win a competitive Academy Award, for her performance as Addie Loggins in '' Paper Moon'' co-starring her father, Ry ...
, with whom he had already had a son, Kevin (1986). They had two more children, Sean (1987) and Emily (1991), before divorcing in 1994. When McEnroe returned to the tour later in 1986, he won three ATP tournaments, but in 1987 he failed to win a title for the first time since turning professional. After losing in the first round of the French Open he withdrew from Wimbledon with an injured back just prior to the start of the tournament. This was the second consecutive year that he missed the championships at Wimbledon. He took another seven-month break from the game following the
US Open, where he was suspended for two months and fined US$17,500 () for misconduct and verbal abuse.
World No. 1 ranking
McEnroe became the top-ranked singles player in the world on March 3, 1980.
He was the top-ranked player on 14 separate occasions between 1980 and 1985 and finished the year ranked No. 1 four straight years from 1981 through 1984. He spent a total of 170 weeks at the top of the rankings.
Success in doubles
In addition to his success as a singles player, McEnroe was also highly successful in doubles, ranking at number 1 in doubles for a combined 270 weeks and winning ten Grand Slam doubles titles.
His first Grand Slam doubles title was the 1977 French Open mixed doubles with childhood friend
Mary Carillo.
His most successful partnership was with arguably
Peter Fleming, who he won 57 doubles titles with, including seven Grand Slams (four at Wimbledon and three at the US Open). Fleming was modest about his own contribution to the partnership, once remarking that "the best doubles partnership in the world is McEnroe and anybody."
McEnroe won a fourth US Open men's doubles title in 1989 with
Mark Woodforde
Mark Raymond Woodforde, OAM (born 23 September 1965) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. He is best known as one half of " The Woodies", a doubles partnership with Todd Woodbridge.
Woodforde was born in Adelaide, and join ...
, and a fifth Wimbledon men's doubles title in 1992 with
Michael Stich
Michael Detlef Stich (; born 18 October 1968) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in 1993, and No. 9 in men's doubles, achieved in ...
.
McEnroe's success led to some writing that he might have been "the greatest doubles player of all time" and "possibly the greatest team player never to have played a team sport."
Davis Cup
More than any other player in his era, McEnroe was responsible for reviving American interest in the
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
,
which had been shunned by Jimmy Connors and other leading U.S. players, and had not seen a top U.S. player regularly compete since
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first Black player selected ...
. Connors's refusal to play Davis Cup instead of lucrative exhibitions had been a source of enmity between him and Ashe. In
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
, McEnroe won two singles rubbers in the final as the U.S. captured the Cup for the first time since
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
, beating Great Britain in the final. McEnroe continued to be a mainstay of U.S. Davis Cup teams for the next 14 years, and was part of title-winning teams in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1992. He set numerous U.S. Davis Cup records, including years played (12), ties (30), singles wins (41), and total wins in singles and doubles (59). He played both singles and doubles in 13 series, and he and
Peter Fleming won 14 of 15 Davis Cup doubles matches together.
An epic performance was McEnroe's 6-hour, 22-minute victory over
Mats Wilander
Mats Arne Olof Wilander (; born 22 August 1964) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...
in the deciding rubber of the quarterfinal win over Sweden in 1982, played in St. Louis, Missouri. McEnroe won the match, at the time the longest in Davis Cup history, 9–7, 6–2, 15–17, 3–6, 8–6. McEnroe nearly broke that record in a 6-hour, 20-minute Davis Cup loss to
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker (; born 22 November 1967) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Becker won 49 c ...
five years later. Becker won that match, the second rubber in a 3–2 loss to West Germany in World Group Relegation play, 4–6, 15–13, 8–10, 6–2, 6–2.
McEnroe also helped the U.S. win the
World Team Cup
The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...
in 1984 and 1985, in both cases defeating
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
in the final.
Final years on the tour
McEnroe struggled to regain his form after his 1986 sabbatical. He lost three times at majors to
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player and coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis ...
, losing straight-set quarterfinals at both the
1987 US Open and the
1989 Australian Open
The 1989 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on Hardcourt, outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park, Flinders Park in Melbourne in Victoria (state), Victoria in Australia. It was the 77th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 16 ...
, and a long four-set match, played over two days, in the fourth round of the
1988 French Open. Rumors of
drug abuse
Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...
had begun during his second sabbatical. McEnroe denied them at the time, but later acknowledged he had used
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
during his career in a 2000 interview, although he denied that the drug affected his play.
McEnroe had multiple notable victories in the final years of his career. In the 1988 French Open, McEnroe beat 16-year-old
Michael Chang
Michael Te-pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked world No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1996. Chang is the youngest man in history to win a singl ...
6–0, 6–3, 6–1 in the third round; Chang went on to win the title the next year. In 1989, McEnroe won a record fifth title at the
World Championship Tennis Finals (the championship tournament of the WCT tour, which was being staged for the last time), defeating top-ranked Lendl in the semifinals. At
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
, he defeated Mats Wilander in a four-set quarterfinal before losing to
Stefan Edberg
Jan Stefan Edberg (; born 19 January 1966) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in both men's singles and men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), one of two players in the ...
in the semifinals. He won the RCA Championships in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
and reached the final of the
Canadian Open, where he lost to Lendl. He also won both of his singles rubbers in the quarterfinal
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
tie with Sweden.
Controversy was never far from McEnroe, however; in his fourth-round match against
Mikael Pernfors
Mikael Pernfors (; born 16 July 1963) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1986, and won the 1993 Canadian Open in Montreal.
Career
Pernfors played a topspin-heavy basel ...
at the
1990 Australian Open, McEnroe was ejected from the tournament for swearing at the umpire, supervisor, and referee.
He was warned by the umpire for intimidating a lineswoman, and then docked a point for smashing a racket. McEnroe was apparently unaware that a new Code of Conduct, which had been introduced just before the tournament, meant that a third code violation would lead not to the deduction of a game but instead in immediate disqualification. He was also fined $6,500 for the incidents.
Later that year, McEnroe reached the semifinals of the
US Open, losing to the eventual champion
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras (born August 12, 1971) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the A ...
in four sets. He also won the
Davidoff Swiss Indoors in
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
, defeating
Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivanišević (; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 1994. Ivanišević won 22 ATP To ...
in a five-set final. The last time McEnroe was ranked in the world's top ten was on October 22, 1990; his end-of-year singles ranking was 13th.
In 1991, McEnroe won the last edition of the Volvo Tennis-Chicago tournament by defeating his brother
Patrick in the final. He won both of his singles rubbers in the quarterfinal Davis Cup tie with Spain. He reached the fourth round at Wimbledon (losing to Edberg) and the third round at the US Open (losing to Chang in a five-set night match). His end-of-year singles ranking was No. 28.
In 1992, McEnroe defeated third-ranked and defending champion
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker (; born 22 November 1967) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Becker won 49 c ...
in the third round of the
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
6–4, 6–3, 7–5 before a sell-out crowd. In the fourth round, McEnroe needed 4 hours 42 minutes to defeat ninth-ranked
Emilio Sánchez
Emilio Ángel Sánchez Vicario (; born 29 May 1965) is a Spanish former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. He won five Grand Slam doubles titles and the men's doubles silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Games. Sánchez is the older brother of ...
8–6 in the fifth set. He lost to
Wayne Ferreira
Wayne Richard Ferreira (born 15 September 1971) is a South African tennis coach and a former professional player. Ferreira won 15 ATP singles titles and 11 doubles titles. His career-high rankings were world No. 6 in singles (in May 1995) and ...
in the quarterfinals. At
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
, McEnroe reached the semifinals where he lost in straight sets to the eventual champion
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 101 ...
. McEnroe also teamed with
Michael Stich
Michael Detlef Stich (; born 18 October 1968) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in 1993, and No. 9 in men's doubles, achieved in ...
to win his fifth
Wimbledon men's doubles title in a record-length 5-hour-1-minute final, which the pair won 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 19–17. At the end of the year, he teamed with Pete Sampras to win the doubles rubber in the Davis Cup final, where the U.S. defeated Switzerland 3–1.
McEnroe retired from the professional tour at the end of 1992. He ended his singles career ranked world No. 20. He played in one tournament in 1994 as a wildcard at the
Rotterdam Open
The Rotterdam Open, also known as the ABN AMRO Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional men's tennis tournament played on Tennis court#Indoor courts, indoor hard courts. It is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the ATP Tour and has been held ...
, losing in the first round. This was his last singles match on the ATP Tour.
After
Steffi Graf
Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a r ...
won the
1999 French Open, McEnroe suggested to her that they play
mixed doubles at Wimbledon. She agreed, and they went on to reach the semifinals, but withdrew at that stage because Graf had reached the
singles final, and preferred to focus on that tournament.
Post-retirement from tennis
After retiring, McEnroe pursued his post-tour goal of becoming a working musician. He had learned to play guitar with the help of friends like
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...
and
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
. During his divorce, McEnroe formed The Johnny Smyth Band with himself as lead singer and guitarist, began writing songs, and played small gigs in cities where he played with the senior tour. Although
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician who is the drummer and a founding member of American heavy metal band Metallica. Along with James Hetfield, Ulrich has songwriting credits on almost all of the band's songs, and the ...
complimented his "natural instinct for music", a bar owner where McEnroe's band played said that "he couldn't sing to save his life." The band toured for two years, but McEnroe suddenly quit in 1997 just before finishing his first album.
In 1997, McEnroe's wife, singer-songwriter
Patty Smyth, told him, "In future only one of us will be working away from home on a music tour and it ain't gonna be you!"
McEnroe was inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...
in 1999. He is now a
sports commentator
In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...
providing commentary for American television networks such as
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
, CBS, NBC, and
USA at the
US Open, the
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, and various ATP tournaments, as well as at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
for the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in the UK.

McEnroe became the U.S. Davis Cup captain in September 1999. His team barely escaped defeat in their first two outings in 2000, beating
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
and the Czech Republic in tight 3–2 encounters. They were then defeated 5–0 by Spain in the semifinals. McEnroe resigned in November 2000 after 14 months as captain, citing frustration with the Davis Cup schedule and format as two of his primary reasons. His brother Patrick took over the job.
In 2002, McEnroe played himself in ''
Mr. Deeds'' and again in 2008 in ''
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' is a 2008 American Satire (film and television), satirical Action comedy, action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow. Sandler also stars, alongside Joh ...
''. McEnroe played himself in the 2004 movie ''
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
''. In July 2004, McEnroe began a
CNBC
CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
talk show titled ''
McEnroe''. The show, however, was unsuccessful, twice earning a 0.0
Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...
, and was canceled within five months. In 2002, he hosted the American game show ''
The Chair'' on
ABC as well as the British version on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
, but this venture also was unsuccessful.
In 2004, McEnroe said that during much of his career he had unwittingly taken
steroids
A steroid is an organic compound with four fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration.
Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter mem ...
. He said that he had been administered these drugs without his knowledge, stating: "For six years I was unaware I was being given a form of steroid of the legal kind they used to give horses until they decided it was too strong even for horses."
McEnroe is active in philanthropy and tennis development. For years he has co-chaired the
City Parks Foundation's annual CityParks Tennis fundraiser. The charitable benefit raises crucial funds for New York City's largest municipal youth tennis programs. He collects American
contemporary art
Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
, and opened a
gallery in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
in 1993.
McEnroe still plays regularly on the
ATP Champions Tour. One victory came at the Jean-Luc Lagardere Trophy in Paris in 2010, where he defeated
Guy Forget
Guy Forget (; born 4 January 1965) is a French tennis administrator and retired professional player. During his career, he helped France win the Davis Cup in both 1991 and 1996. Since retiring as a player, he has served as France's Davis Cup te ...
in the final. Playing on the Champions Tour allows him to continue his most iconic rivalries with old adversaries Ivan Lendl and Björn Borg. His last and 26th win (a record since 2001 when the ATP acquired the Champions Tour) was his 2016 win at Stockholm against Thomas Muster.
In charity events and
World Team Tennis
World TeamTennis (WTT) was a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973.
The league's season normally took place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA would ...
, he has beaten many top players, including
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.
Fish won six tournaments on the ...
and
Mark Philippoussis
Mark Anthony Philippoussis (born 7 November 1976) is an Australian tennis coach, commentator and former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Austra ...
.
In 2007, McEnroe received the
Philippe Chatrier Award (the
ITF's highest accolade) for his contributions to tennis both on and off the court. Later that year, he also appeared on the NBC comedy ''
30 Rock
''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
'' as the host of a game show called "Gold Case" in which he uttered his famous line "You cannot be serious!" when a taping went awry. McEnroe also appeared on the HBO comedy ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...
''.
In 2009, McEnroe appeared on ''30 Rock'' again, in the episode "
Gavin Volure", where the title character, a mysterious, reclusive businessman (played by
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...
) invites him to dinner because he bridges the worlds of "art collecting and yelling."

In 2010, he founded the
John McEnroe Tennis Academy
The John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) is a tennis academy founded by tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in m ...
on
Randall's Island
Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City. in New York City.
In 2012, McEnroe, commentating for ESPN, heavily criticized Australian tennis player
Bernard Tomic
Bernard Tomic (; , ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Tomic has won four singles titles on the ATP To ...
for "
tanking" against
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 13 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in ...
at the
US Open. However, Tomic was cleared of any wrongdoing, saying that he was "simply overwhelmed by the occasion" (this was the first time that he had played at
Arthur Ashe Stadium
Arthur Ashe Stadium is a tennis arena at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. Part of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, it is the main stadium of the US Open tennis tournament and has a capacity of 23,771, ma ...
).
McEnroe was part of
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP ...
's coaching team from May to August 2016.
In addition to his other commentary roles, McEnroe was a central figure for Australian television network
Nine
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit
Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...
's coverage of the 2019/2020
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
.
McEnroe performed as the off-camera narrator for four seasons (2020–2023) of ''
Never Have I Ever
"Never have I ever", also known as "I've never.." or "ten fingers", is a drinking game in which players take turns asking other players about things they have not done. Other players who have done this thing respond by taking a drink. A versi ...
'', appearing in one episode in Season 1.
On April 2, 2023, McEnroe participated with Michael Chang, Andre Agassi, and Andy Roddick in the first live airing of
Pickleball
Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played i ...
on ESPN in the Million dollar Pickleball Slam at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Return to the tour
McEnroe returned to the
ATP Tour in 2006 to play two doubles tournaments. In his first tournament, he teamed with
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman (; born 23 March 1972) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He is a former world No. 1 in doubles, and also a former world No. 4 in singles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 ...
to win the title at the
SAP Open in San Jose. This was McEnroe's 78th doubles title (No. 5 in history) and his first title since capturing the
Paris Indoor doubles title in November 1992 with his brother Patrick. The win meant that McEnroe had won doubles titles in four different decades.
In his second tournament, McEnroe and Björkman lost in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Stockholm.
McEnroe won the over-45 legends doubles competition at the French Open in 2012. He was partnered with his brother Patrick. They beat Guy Forget and Henri Leconte 7–6, 6–3. McEnroe and his brother Patrick won again at the 2014 French Open in the over-45 legends doubles competition. They beat Andres Gomez and Mark Woodforde 4–6, 7–5, 1–0 (10–7).
Personal life
McEnroe was married to Academy Award winner
Tatum O'Neal
Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress. At the age of 10, she became the youngest person ever to win a competitive Academy Award, for her performance as Addie Loggins in '' Paper Moon'' co-starring her father, Ry ...
, the daughter of actor
Ryan O'Neal, from 1986 to 1994. They have three children. After their divorce, they were awarded joint custody of the children, but in 1998 McEnroe was awarded sole custody due to O'Neal's addiction to heroin.
In 1997, McEnroe married rock singer
Patty Smyth, with whom he has two daughters.
They live on Manhattan's
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...
.
McEnroe has published two autobiographies: ''
You Cannot Be Serious'' (released as ''Serious'' in the UK) in 2002, and 2017's ''But Seriously''.
Career statistics
Singles performance timeline
Records
*These records were attained in the
Open Era
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today a ...
of tennis.
Legacy
McEnroe's achievements have led many to consider him among the greatest tennis players in history.
Professional awards
*
ITF World Champion:1981, 1983, 1984
*
ATP player of the year: 1981, 1983, 1984
*
ATP most improved player: 1978
*
World Number 1 Male Player
*
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
Commitment Award
*
Chevalier of the Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
2024
In popular culture

McEnroe's fiery temper has led to him being parodied in popular culture:
*In 1982, British impressionist
Roger Kitter
Roger Daniel Kitter (20 October 1949 – 3 January 2015) was an English actor, comedian and impressionist (entertainment), impressionist, best known for playing Captain Alberto Bertorelli in 'Allo 'Allo! (series 7), series 7 of the British sitc ...
and
Kaplan Kaye, under the name of "The Brat", recorded the single "
Chalk Dust - The Umpire Strikes Back" in which Kitter parodied McEnroe losing his temper during a match. The single reached the UK Top 20 and was a Top 10 hit in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
*His bursts of rage were parodied in the satirical British programme ''
Spitting Image
''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ...
'', on which he and wife Tatum frequently screamed and threw things at each other.
*His 1980 likeness was featured in a series 2 episode of early 2000's British comedy show,
Look Around You, as a life-size assembled robot. It was capable of saying "you cannot be serious!" in an aggressive tone.
*Another parody was in the satirical British programme ''
Not the Nine O'Clock News
''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show that was broadcast on BBC2 from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, the show features satirical ...
'', portrayed by
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...
, showing him as a boy arguing with his parents over breakfast.
*He mocked himself in a
PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president.
Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...
ad promoting spay and neuter, by launching into one of his famous tirades when challenged about his decision to have his dog fixed.
* In the 1980s he appeared in a commercial for
R. White's Lemonade in the UK.
* In 2006, McEnroe appeared in a television advert campaign for
National Car Rental
National Car Rental is a private American rental car agency based in Clayton, Missouri, United States. National is owned by Enterprise Holdings, along with other agencies including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Alamo Rent a Car. National typically c ...
, expressing one of his outbursts, saying "Any Car? You cannot be serious!" The following year, McEnroe appeared in an advertisement for
Telstra
Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...
in Australia.
* In late 2013, he starred in a television commercial campaign for the UK based gadget insurance company Protect Your Bubble. In the TV adverts, he emulated his on-court outbursts.
* In 2014 he appeared as a guitarist on the
solo debut album of
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American-British musician. She is a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter; she and drummer Martin Chambers are the ...
, lead singer of
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...
.
* McEnroe was portrayed by
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf ( ; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and 2002 and won a Dayt ...
in the Swedish biopic ''
Borg vs McEnroe
''Borg vs McEnroe'' (, ) is a 2017 biographical film, biographical sports film, sports drama film, focusing on the famous professional Borg–McEnroe rivalry, rivalry between tennis players, Björn Borg and John McEnroe at the 1980 Wimbledon Cha ...
'', which was released in 2017 depicting
their rivalry and in particular the
1980 Wimbledon final.
*McEnroe is referenced in the 1992 hit song ''
Jump Around'' by
House of Pain
House of Pain was an American hip hop trio that released three albums in the 1990s. The group consisted of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, and Everlast. They are best known for their 1992 hit single " Jump Around", which reached number 3 in their nati ...
, with the lyric "I'll serve your ass like John McEnroe!".
* In the ''
Homestar Runner
''Homestar Runner'' is an American comedy animated web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by the ...
'' Halloween cartoon "3 Times Halloween Funjob", Homestar Runner dresses up as McEnroe, and in an Easter egg at the end of the cartoon, a puppet version of Homestar quotes McEnroe's Wimbledon tirade.
* In his guest cameo appearance in season four of ''
Only Murders in the Building
, creator = Steve Martin & John Hoffman
, starring = {{Plainlist,
* Steve Martin
* Martin Short
* Selena Gomez
* Aaron Dominguez
* Amy Ryan
* Cara Delevingne
* Adina Verson
* Michael Cyril Creighton
, music ...
'' had Oliver Putnam (played by
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian and American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television ...
) accidentally bump into McEnroe and angering him, threatening Putnam in the city streets.
Film and television appearances
See also
*
World number 1 male tennis player rankings.
*
Tennis male players statistics.
*
List of Grand Slam men's singles champions
*
Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
*
Borg–McEnroe rivalry
The Borg–McEnroe rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Björn Borg and John McEnroe, who met 14 times on the regular tour and 22 times in total between November 1978 and September 1981. Their head-to-head was even at 7–7. Their on-court rival ...
*
Lendl–McEnroe rivalry
*
Connors–McEnroe rivalry
*
Tennis records of All Time – Men's singles
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered ...
*
Tennis records of the Open Era – Men's singles
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
Notes
References
Further reading
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Video
*''The Wimbledon Collection – Legends of Wimbledon – John McEnroe'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: September 21, 2004, Run Time: 52 minutes, ASIN: B0002HOD9U
*''The Wimbledon Collection – The Classic Match – Borg vs. McEnroe 1981 Final'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: September 21, 2004, Run Time: 210 minutes, ASIN: B0002HODAE
*''The Wimbledon Collection – The Classic Match – Borg vs. McEnroe 1980 Final'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: September 21, 2004, Run Time: 240 minutes; ASIN: B0002HOEK8
*''Charlie Rose with John McEnroe (February 4, 1999)'' Charlie Rose, DVD Release Date: September 18, 2006, ASIN: B000IU3342
External links
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Official Wimbledon website profileBBC profileJohn McEnroe's ESPN Bio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McEnroe, John
1959 births
Living people
American expatriates in West Germany
American male tennis players
American people of Irish descent
American sportspeople in doping cases
American television talk show hosts
Tennis coaches from New York (state)
ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players
ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players
BBC sports presenters and reporters
Buckley Country Day School alumni
CNBC people
Doping cases in tennis
French Open champions
French Open junior champions
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles
Hopman Cup competitors
International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees
ITF World Champions
Masters tennis players
People from Douglaston–Little Neck, Queens
People from Flushing, Queens
Tennis players from Queens, New York
Sportspeople from Wiesbaden
Tennis players from Darmstadt (region)
Stanford Cardinal men's tennis players
American tennis commentators
Trinity School (New York City) alumni
US Open (tennis) champions
Wimbledon champions
21st-century American guitarists
American male guitarists
Guitarists from New York (state)
21st-century autobiographers
American autobiographers