John McEnroe's 'irritating' Wimbledon commentary savaged by famous sports columnist

John McEnroe has cemented himself as a titan of tennis broadcasting over the past few decades - much to the displeasure of one of the most revered voices in sports. 

Despite the wave of fresh talent taking to the airwaves at last month's Roland Garros, McEnroe, 66 - and his gaffes - returned to SW19 for Wimbledon's coverage. 

And the legendary Sally Jenkins took a sledgehammer to the tennis legend's broadcasting in her Washington Post column this week.

The iconic columnist begged network executives to drag the three-time Wimbledon winner off the air as she scathed, 'Belching up words is not broadcasting.' 

Jenkins tore into McEnroe and his younger brother Patrick for their bumbling partnership in the commentary box at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. 

'Coupled in the ESPN broadcast booth at Wimbledon this week, they have given the viewer about as much information as a couple of air compressors, complete with the irritating hissing,' she penned. 

The sports writer suggested the elder McEnroe is allergic to studying the modern game and any of its rising stars outside of the top five, blasted his butchering of players' names and accused the younger of the two brothers of burping out banalities. 

'When the elder Mac isn't burying the viewer in superficialities, he blithely and unembarrassedly mangles foreign pronunciations, apparently because he imagines it is part of his ineffable charm,' she savaged. 

'Flavio Cobolli of Italy has suffered the indignity at Wimbledon of being dubbed Carbelly, Cowbelly and Cahbally. Maybe by the semis, Johnny Mac will buy another vowel. Or study his ESPN binder.'

And, as Jenkins stated, Cobolli, the world No 24, isn't the only victim to befall McEnroe's ignorance. As she highlighted, he incorrectly called a Grigor Dimitrov serve the 'biggest serve he ever hit' despite a faster one earlier in the same tournament. 

She also recalled his staggering gaffe at last year's 2024 Australian Open when he boldly declared he knew nothing of Belgium's Zizou Bergs with little remorse.  

Or, most incredulously, when he launched into an on-air rant over Chinese player Juncheng Shang's nickname 'Jerry,' at the 2023 Australian Open. 

What's more, Jenkins accused McEnroe of behaving worse than the 'most spoiled actress', abusing a 'diva license' afforded to him by network executives. 

She highlighted a particularly uncomfortable moment during last month's French Open when McEnroe arrived late to set for the men's final showdown between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, leaving Chris Evert and Tim Henman to cover for him. 

McEnroe amassed seven singles Grand Slam titles during his own career on the court. He also won a record eight year end championship titles overall, the Masters championships three times, and the WCT Finals, a record five times.

However, for Jenkins, that is no longer enough. 

'When each retired, he knew the games and habits of his opponents and how to find all the angles against them,' she wrote of the McEnroes. 'Those days are over.'

Instead, she suggested the executives should turn to 'raft of truly talented voices' who apply real insight to the craft, such as Evert, Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi. 

Despite Jenkins' criticism, McEnroe remains a longstanding part of Wimbledon coverage for the BBC.  

The BBC's 2023 salary report showed McEnroe's fee dipping slightly to around $270,000 for the 2023/24 season from the previous year's high of $280,000, according to The Express. However, that figure still sees the former player rake in $19,000 daily throughout the tournament.