When the tennis is this good, so should the commentary be, shouldn’t it? It’s center court. There’s Roger Federer in the stands in the classiest blue suit. In front of him on the court are Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur in the R16, who gave us an amazing spectacle of a match. But not everything was perfect. It’s the fans in front of the television who are having a John McEnroe problem.

As good as the American was on the grass, his commentary has been a letdown many times. And the commentary on Day 8 of the 2025 Wimbledon was right up there amongst the long list of faux pas committed by the 3-time Wimbledon Champion. It happened in the Djokovic-Di Minaur match when he pronounced Djokovic as ‘Jockavich.’ Then, McEnroe would say “Dee Minaur” instead of “Di Minaur” (leaving the “Di” syllable too long).

But it was not just that match. In the other R16 match between Marin Cilic and Fabio Cobolli, the American again dropped the ball. The winner was the lesser-known Italian, but what the viewers also noticed was how the 66-year-old commentator kept pronouncing Cobolli’s name wrong.

The articulation problem isn’t new. Remember how awkwardly he has pronounced “Alexander Zverev” during the German’s US Open match against Taylor Fritz? People have time and again called out John McEnroe for this particular aspect of his commentary, which has been deemed disrespectful towards the competitors. And the allegation hasn’t been brought by just the fans. Even broadcasters like Ben Rothenberg and players such as Thai-Son Kwiatkowski have objected to the repeated articulation mistakes.

They say it’s a lack of commitment towards the commentary job, which needs hours of research and effort. But McEnroe seems to have no time for that. After all, he is a legendary 7-time GS Champ. But the fans are not having it one bit. And they have drawn the line now.

The fans are left wanting from the Wimbledon legend John McEnroe

Most fans had their eyes on the Djokovic-Di Minaur match. And seeing McEnroe’s commentary, one of them particularly pointed out the faulty pronunciation that McEnroe makes while saying Novak Djokovic’s name. The tweet went, “Why does John McEnroe keep calling him “Joke a Vitch?” Irritating as hell!!” Another fan chimed in with his similar McEnroe issue: “There’s nothing worse than having John McEnroe commentating on a Djokovic match.”

Is it only because of the weird pronunciation, or does the harsh criticism have something to do with it? We can’t speculate. But bad commentary in a Djokovic match is actually something fans have seen before. It was in the 2024 French Open match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. This time, it was Herbert who had to bear the brunt of the verbal assault.

Saying the wrong name, not having a clue about the player (yes, that happened a couple of times, most notably at the 2023 Wimbledon, when the American commentator didn’t have a clue that Nicolas Jarry was the 28th seed in the tournament), all these have gone on too far for some tennis fans who want to see sincerity. So, one of them said, “When is tennis media going to move on from John McEnroe… he’s one of the worst commentators out there, never has anything interesting to add, just talks a bunch of shit in his unbearable accent.”

Well, another fan, however, compromised and suggested, “I see John McEnroe is at it again. If ESPN won’t retire him, can we at least compromise and keep him off broadcasts until the semifinals, where he’ll actually know the players?” Hey, does it matter if he even knows the guy? In the 2024 Australian Open, he kept pronouncing Stefanos Tsitsipas’ name wrong and had to be corrected multiple times by his co-commentator, Nick Kyrgios.

Seeing it happen again and again has made one fan just lose it. The verdict is out as far as this tennis fan is concerned. “Giving John McEnroe a microphone was the worst thing Wimbledon have ever done.” Things do need to change, don’t they? With the 2025 Wimbledon entering the main stages, we know the display on the court will be top-notch. Hopefully, the commentary game steps up, too. Catch every key moment from the Championships as it happens.