John McEnroe
In 1984, McEnroe recorded the best single season win-loss record in the Open Era at 96.47% (82/3). In 1981, 1983 and 1984 McEnroe was the ITF World Champion for Men’s singles. He was also named as the ATP player of the year in 1981, 1983 and 1984. McEnroe is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, especially for his touch on the volley.
He is best remembered for his shot-making artistry and superb volleying; for his famous rivalries with Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl; and for his confrontational on-court behavior which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities. McEnroe’s most famous confrontations include his tirade at an umpire during a match at Wimbledon in 1981 and for being disqualified from the 1990 Australian Open.
McEnroe is a former Captain of the United States Davis Cup team. As a player McEnroe represented the States and was part of the winning team on four occasions in the Davis Cup. After retiring from professional tennis McEnroe participated in the ATP Champions Tour. McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999 and received the Philippe Chatrier Award in 2007.
After retirement from the tour
McEnroe separated from O’Neal in 1992, and divorced in 1994. He married rock star Patty Smyth in April 1997, with whom he has two daughters, Anna and Ava, and one stepdaughter, Ruby from Smyth’s previous marriage to musician Richard Hell.
McEnroe met Smyth while pursuing his post-tour goal of becoming a working musician. He had learned to play guitar with the help of friends like Eddie Van Halen and Eric Clapton. 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 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.
McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999. He now works as a sports commentator in tennis and has regularly appeared in US national telecasts of Grand Slam tennis matches on such networks as CBS, NBC, USA, and ESPN, as has his brother Patrick. He also commentates on Wimbledon for the BBC 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 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. McEnroe played himself in the 2004 movie Wimbledon. In July 2004, McEnroe began a CNBC talk show entitled McEnroe. The show, however, was unsuccessful, twice earning a 0.0 Nielsen rating, and was cancelled within five months. He also hosted The Chair quiz show in both the U.K. and the U.S., but this venture also was unsuccessful.
In 2004, McEnroe admitted that during much of his career he had used steroids, but claimed 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.” Meanwhile he denied claims by ex-wife O’Neal that he had used anabolic steroids as a performance-enhancer during his attempted comeback late in his tennis career.
McEnroe is active in philanthropy and tennis development. For years he has co-chaired the CityParks Tennis charity benefit, an annual fundraiser produced by the City Parks Foundation. The charitable event raises crucial funds for New York City‘s largest municipal youth tennis programs. He collects American contemporary art, and opened a gallery in Manhattan in 1993.
McEnroe still plays regularly on the ATP Champions Tour. His most recent victory came at the Jean-Luc Lagardere Trophy in Paris in 2010, where he defeated Guy Forget in the final. Playing on the Champions Tour allows him to continue his most iconic rivalries with old adversaries Ivan Lendl and Bjorn Borg.
He is a TV commentator at major tournaments. In charity events and World Team Tennis, he has beaten many top players, including Mardy Fish and Mark Philippoussis.
In 2007, McEnroe appeared on the NBC comedy 30 Rock 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.
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) invites him to dinner because he bridges the worlds of “art collecting and yelling.“
During the 2009 US Open, McEnroe and Serbian star Novak Djokovic shared a comic on-court moment after Djokovic’s fourth-round win over Radek Štěpánek. Djokovic, known for his off-court impersonations of other star players (many of them his friends), mimicked McEnroe’s pre-service ritual and some of his best-known antics before motioning McEnroe to come down from the press box to join him. McEnroe loosened his shirt, grabbed a racquet, and then proceeded to mimic Djokovic’s pre-serve ritual. The two then played a few points, ending with McEnroe hitting a winning cross-court volley; they then congratulated one another at the net.
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 to win the title at the SAP Open in San Jose. This was McEnroe’s 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 and surpassed Tom Okker for the second highest number (71) of doubles titles in history (trailing Todd Woodbridge).
In his second tournament, McEnroe and Björkman lost in the quarter-finals of the tournament in Stockholm.
John also won at the French Open in 2012 for the over-45 legends doubles competition. He was partnered with his brother Patrick beating Guy Forget and Henri Leconte 7–6 (7–5), 6–3.
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