John McEnroe fears he ‘would have been sent to jail’ ahead of BBC showdown

John McEnroe claimed he would have “spent some time in the slammer” if there had been social media during his manic playing career. The American legend will team up with new BBC signing Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon next week.
The Aussie is the modern Enfant Terrible of tennis not just notorious for his on-court antics but also for assaulting an ex-girlfriend and sharing posts from Andrew Tate.

He also branded BBC commentator Andrew Castle a “clown” on social media during last year’s final. A female Tory MP has called his appointment by the BBC “a disgrace”. McEnroe, now 65, said: “I’m not on social media. But I feel like if I was I may have spent some time in the slammer.

“I’m glad not to have had it during my playing career. From everything I hear, it seems like the players in the locker room, they’re all on their phones the entire time. It’s an epidemic for everyone, not just tennis players. “Even though I felt like I was getting incredible attention, particularly at Wimbledon and negative attention oftentimes, it felt overwhelming, so I can only imagine how it feels now if every Tom, Dick and Harry can throw something at you as well.

“I guess the short answer is: ‘Yes. I’m glad I’m not going through now what people like Nick are going through’. But I think he’s on social media all the time. So there’s got to be a part of him that likes it, I would assume.”

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios has played one competitive match since October 2022 because of wrist, knee and foot injuries. He also revealed in the Netflix series Break Point that he contemplated suicide after his 2019 Wimbledon defeat.

“I feel like Nick has talked about some struggles emotionally,” McEnroe added.

I don’t know if he has setbacks physically which has not allowed him to play. Or if he has decided: ‘Hey, I would like to do a podcast, I want to be a commentator now’. I think he can be good at it because I think he is pretty good at it already.

“Both of us would probably be in the category where maybe we could have done more. If he is content in having gotten to the Wimbledon final two years ago, and he feels he has maxxed out in what he can do, that is his decision. I do hope that he gives it an all out chance to play you know before it’s too late.”

Maybe Kyrgios will mature to be like McEnroe. The original Super Brat is this year celebrating the 40th anniversary of his third and final Wimbledon win in 1984 when he destroyed Jimmy Connors.

And now 65, he recently received the Legion of Honour in France from Emmanuel Macron and went to a state banquet with Joe Biden during the French Open.

“It was one of the best days of my life I would say. Who would have thought from being a bad boy in the 80s I would be considered an elder statesman in a way which is nice? The journey feels like it’s been worth it.

“The ups and downs and sort of learning process and the life experiences that I’ve had. Having kids, going through a divorce. These are things that everyone can relate to. And to come out the other end where ironically President Macron during his speech commented on, part of the reason I was able to get the Legion of Honor Award was because of the way I acted more or less on the court. I just find that incredible.

“Hopefully it did spark some interest in the game and some of it was a lot of it was good. So I’m proud. Listen, I’ve made tons of mistakes, including plenty on the tennis court but to come out the other end and meet the president, it was a pretty cool thing. You live and learn. Part of what I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is to appreciate these moments and these incredible honours that you would have never thought would have happened.”