The year 1992 was a turning point in John McEnroe’s life. The American legend had ruled the tennis world for years but was beginning to slowly fade away, with results not going his way. Additionally, there were also tensions arising in his personal life. That year, McEnroe separated from his ex-wife, Tatum O’Neal and also announced the end of his playing career. It shook the tennis world, who hadn’t expected his sudden retirement from the sport. Recently, he opened up about that dark chapter in his career, which changed his life.

Recently, McEnroe sat down with Graham Bensinger to discuss his personal and professional life. While he quit his playing career, McEnroe stayed close to the sport and also serves as a commentator now. During that conversation, McEnroe opened up about the events leading to his retirement.

He said, “I [was] losing a part of my identity, which was tennis, or so I thought. It turns out I was still a lot more involved than I thought I would be at the time. What I basically thought I was stopping for in a way was so to allow my ex-wife to sort of have the opportunity to go out and do her thing. And then take care of the kids, which I thought, ‘Hey, that’s not a bad thing. They’re young and that would be a good thing.’ So then to have neither one of those things, the end of the marriage and the end of the career, that was a lot to handle. That seemed a bit overwhelming.”

Even as McEnroe thought that quitting his career would save his marriage, things became worse. He went on to separate from his ex-wife, and the emotions took a toll on McEnroe. He further added, “I shouldn’t have been on the court. I felt like I was sort of obligated to sort of finish. I mean, I guess I didn’t have to. I guess I was lucky in a way that they—I played with my brother so, you know, I had some support systems. Patrick was with me. Davis Cup meant a lot to me around that time because I was around people that are supporting me, and my kids were there, and so I was at least getting by—by the skin of my teeth.”

Years later, McEnroe married famous American singer Patty Smyth and the two have been going strong. Recently, McEnroe also offered his voice at Wimbledon and called for a major rule change there.

John McEnroe asks Wimbledon to ban headphones

During the Ladies’ singles finals, both Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova were spotted wearing headphones before their match. The two tried to calm things down ahead of the big occasion and soak in the pressure by listening to music. However, this didn’t go down well with McEnroe, who objected to the players listening to music instead of enjoying the atmosphere inside the stadium.

He said, “They [the All England Club] shouldn’t allow them to wear AirPods or headphones. You have got to get them to enjoy this [atmosphere] instead of playing some music. Come on now, ladies.”

However, listening to music before the matches is a common phenomenon followed by many players before big matches. During an interview, Swiatek once admitted, “Everybody’s asking me if I listen to that all the time. They keep buying me vinyl records and everything, and I’m like, ‘Guys, if I listen to that all the time, I wouldn’t be able to sleep.’ So it’s just pre-match, just to pump myself up. There’s some AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones. So yeah, rock but not too hard.” 

Thus, it is unlikely that Wimbledon will take any action against the players for walking out on the court with their headphones on. What do you think about this ritual followed by the players? Let us know your views in the comments below.