Wimbledon fans name John McEnroe replacement as immediate plea sent | Tennis | Sport
Some tennis fans are calling for ESPN to replace John McEnroe with Andy Roddick on their Wimbledon coverage after adding the 2003 US Open champion to their broadcasts this year. McEnroe and his youngest brother, Patrick, lead coverage of The Championships across the United States and have done so since the network began showing it exclusively in 2012.
ESPN added Roddick to their coverage this summer, his first time covering a Grand Slam for television in over a decade, having previously worked for the BBC at SW19 in 2015. Chris Eubanks and CoCo Vandeweghe also joined their broadcasts, with longtime members of their broadcasting team, Brad Gilbert, Darren Cahill, and Pam Shriver, notably absent over the fortnight.
Roddick’s return to TV in America went down well with viewers. Some have gone as far as to make it clear on social media that they prefer the last American man to win a Grand Slam to McEnroe.
One said on X: “Less John McEnroe talking, more Andy Roddick talking. More Chris Eubanks, too!” Another added: “Can Andy Roddick replace John McEnroe for good, please?”
A third asked: “Please WHEN will they take John McEnroe off the air. They had Andy Roddick doing commentary in the studio, and it was SO MUCH BETTER.”
A further fan said: “The tennis world has known it was time for a changing of the guard long before Roddick stepped into the booth.” An additional view was: “There’s no doubt Andy Roddick is a major talent as an analyst and is a great addition for ESPN.”
Daniel Kaplan of Awful Announcing, a website focused on the sports media industry, is also calling for a changing of the guard. They said: “I like McEnroe … But it’s time for ESPN to call it a day with him, at least as lead announcer, and turn the booth over to the likes of Roddick and other young former players like Chris Eubanks, who is also killing it. They added: “If I ran ESPN tennis … I would start my transition from the McEnroe era soon.”
The three-time Wimbledon champion is also a divisive figure on the BBC’s coverage. Express Sport readers named him their worst pundit, with 25 per cent of the vote, but also picked him as the one they like the most in an alternative poll.
How he dressed for the men’s final also drew criticism, after turning up in a buttoned-down black shirt with a necklace on display. One viewer asked on X: “What kind of outfit is John McEnroe wearing, for God’s sake?” One more added: “Someone tell John McEnroe to button up a bit, please.”
