John McEnroe used to antagonise the public to such a degree during his playing days, he was once named the third most-hated man in history. As well as his impressive shot-making and volleying skills, the American was known for his confrontational on-court behaviour that frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion was dubbed the original “Super Brat” who brought “crazed, nervous, energy…intensity, anger” to the court. As a result, the former world number one endured a difficult relationship with the media during his career. That animosity grew to such an extent that the tennis star was ranked ahead of serial killer Jack the Ripper on a list of the most hated men in history.
“I remember in the ’80s, I was saying to someone else before, there was this newspaper article where they did the most hated men in history,” the American shared in an interview with GQ. “Adolf Hitler was number one, Attila the Hun, number two, John McEnroe, number three, Jack the Ripper, number four. You're like, ‘How can I get in this mix? This has gone so far.’ This was in the early eighties. I'm like, 'Jesus Christ, let's have a little perspective.'
He continued: "I got mad and I admit I overdid it, but that didn't quite make me Attila the Hun, Adolf Hitler or whatever. Because I yelled at some umpires, for God's sake. They used to say, ‘Ban the guy for a year, get rid of him’.”
Tennis is a sport that holds numerous press conferences to allow the media to pose a selection of questions to the players. Ahead of last year’s French Open, Naomi Osaka announced that she would not conduct her mandatory media assignments during the tournament. After the 24-year-old won her first match in straight sets and did not hold a press conference, she was fined $15,000 and threatened with rising levels of fines and expulsion.
The following day, she announced her withdrawal from the tournament, citing mental health issues. Given McEnroe's own experiences with the media, he shared his thoughts on whether the many post-match press conferences the sport has are still necessary and thinks more one-to-one interviews should be conducted.
“In the olden days there was no social media and people putting stuff out on their own, so nowadays it seems a waste of time for the most part," he shared. "There could be times where it's important and there should be obligations to try to help your sport, which is why this started originally.
“But I used to go to Wimbledon and they wouldn't ask me any questions about tennis. They kept asking me about my wife at the time or whatever. And it is just absurd, and a lot of the questions are boring.
“I suppose they're always looking for that one comment and sometimes, some players are more thoughtful about what they have to say than others. It would be interesting to maybe do more one-on-one things with them and set it up in a way that's beneficial for both.”
