Wimbledon 2024: Chris Evert’s Major Commentary Slip-Up of Jasmine Paolini Leaves Tennis Fans Shrieking With Anger

It looks as if the controversies of commentators are far from ending. The likes of John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova have come under the scanner on multiple occasions due to their commentary skills at the ongoing Wimbledon Championships. While McEnroe has been accused of constant chirping during points, Navratilova’s age-old tales haven’t impressed the fans. A while ago, another major error occurred during the summit clash between Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova. Chris Evert was the commentator under the radar this time around, with fans slamming her for this blunder.

Evert is one of the commentators on the panel during the women’s singles final today. However, she is struggling to pronounce Paolini’s name correctly, calling her ‘Paolina’ instead. Fans were left annoyed with this on social media which led to brutal reactions from them. While she is the latest commentator to face the heat from fans for her blunder, this is not the first time the commentators have struggled to pronounce the players’ names correctly.

During the recently-concluded French Open, McEnroe made several slip-ups during the match between Novak Djokovic and Pierre Hugues Herbert, with fans slamming his ‘disrespectful and ridiculous’ commentary. At the same tournament, McEnroe also commentated during the women’s singles final between Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini. After the Polish star won the summit clash, the American legend questioned if Swiatek would ‘wear a little makeup’ during the presentation ceremony.

This further added to the anger among the fans, as many called him to step down from being a commentator in the future. Meanwhile, with Evert involved in many slip-ups today, fans didn’t spare her as well.

Fans slam Chris Evert for major blunders during Jasmine Paolini’s match
One of the fans took to Twitter and questioned, “Is anyone taking bets on how many times Chris Evert will say Paolina by the end of this match?”

Is anyone taking bets on how many times Chris Evert will say Paolina by the end of this match? #WIMBLEDON

— your lasagna timer is done (@ricobhi) July 13, 2024

On the other hand, one fan had a simple suggestion for Evert, who was struggling with Paolini’s name. The suggestion was, “Chris Evert could just switch to calling them Barbora and Jasmine instead of continually butchering “Paolini,” right? I mean… Paulina and Payoleenee ain’t cutting it.” Evert is commentating for ESPN’s Wimbledon broadcast in the United States. With the stakes being high, such slip-ups aren’t let off by the fans, and one of them slammed her by saying, “Chris Evert on @espn unable to pronounce “Paolini” is a disgrace. Paolina? Paoli? Seriously?.”

It is a general practice by the commentators to learn the names of players before the match. However, it looked like Evert had missed it, and one fan suggested to her that she should’ve learned to pronounce Paolini’s name before the summit clash. While on one occasion, Evert pronounced Paolini’s name as ‘Paolina,’ on another occasion, she stretched her name, pronouncing it as ‘Paolineeeee.’ This frustrated one Twitter user, who commented, “How many ways can Chrissie Evert butcher Paolini’s name?! Get it right !!!”

However, these blunders seem to have affected Paolini little as she has come back strongly to level the match. Additionally, with the momentum in her favor, she looks like a strong contender to win the title at Wimbledon.