John McEnroe, a former American professional tennis player, is the seven Grand Slam singles titles and nine doubles titles winner popularly known for his volleying skills and shot-making. John is the only person in history to hold the world’s No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles.
McEnroe married Tatum O’Neal, an Academy Award winner and rock singer Patty Smyth, and fathered five children.
Meanwhile, as every player has their style to flaunt themselves, John McEnroe changes his, depending upon the opponent. A true chameleon!
John is also featured in popular movies and documentaries such as “John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection” (2018) and “McEnroe” (2022).
His confrontational on-court behavior often landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities, and rivalry with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors were hot topics.
From an amateur to a pro who is now retired, here we have the information on the legendary tennis superstar. Let’s start the article with some of the quick facts below.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | John Patrick McEnroe Jr. |
| Known as | John McEnroe |
| Nickname | Johnny, McBrat, Johnny Mac, SuperBrat |
| Birth Date | 16th February 1956 |
| Age | 68 |
| Residence | Queens, U.K |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Education | Trinity School, Ivy preparatory school in Manhattan |
| Horoscope (Zodiac sign) | Aquarius |
| Father’s Name | John McEnroe Sr. |
| Mother’s Name | Kay McEnroe |
| Siblings | 2 (Patrick McEnroe and Mark McEnroe) |
| Age | 68 years old |
| Height | 1.8m (5 feet 11 inches) |
| Weight | 165 lbs (75 kg) |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Body type | Athletic |
| Profession | Tennis Player |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse | Tatum O’Neal (1986 to 1994)
Patty Smyth (1997-Present) |
| Children | 5 |
| Name of Children | Anna, Kevin, Ava, Emily, and Sean McEnroe |
| Beginning of Professional Career | 1977 |
| Retirement | 1992 |
| Playing style | Left-handed net-rusher (one-handed backhand) |
| Sports team | N/A |
| Coach | Antonio Palafox |
| Honors | 7 Grand Slam Title, 155 ATP titles, No.1 ranked professional (1980, 1981-84) |
| Victory | Wimbledon singles, Wimbledon doubles, Davis cup, U.S. Open Champions (multiple times) |
| Net Worth | $100 million |
| Prize Money | $12,552,132 |
| Merch | John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection, But Seriously(Book), Funko Pop |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
John McEnroe | Early Life, Family & Education
With John Patrick McEnroe Jr.’s full name, John was born on 16th February 1956 in Wiesbaden, Germany.
His father, John McEnroe Sr., served in the United States Air Force, and his mother, Kay McEnroe, was a surgical nurse.
Likewise, they raised John in Queens, New York, with his two younger brothers.
John’s grandparents are of Irish descent, as his paternal grandfather was from Ballyjamesduff in County Cavan and his grandmother was from County Westmeath.
Influenced by his father, John had the knack for striking a ball with a plastic bat and covering a considerable distance.
So, at the age of eight, McEnroe showed interest in tennis. Meanwhile, he was also flexing his skills in basketball and soccer.
But he got into tennis with his brothers joining ‘Douglaston Club.’
Besides sports, John was enrolled at the well-known ‘Trinity School‘ of New York.
Later, at nine, he joined ‘The Eastern Lawn Tennis Association‘ to participate in regional tournaments. Earlier, during school days, John was known for being funny, witty, and rowdy.
John McEnroe | Career
Early Career
With the involvement in different sports but gaining skills and perception, John showed his more natural ability on the tennis court.
During his early age, McEnroe won many junior tournaments ranking steadily upward but never ranked on the topmost number on the National Junior Circuit.
Similarly, John joined Ivy League preparatory school in Manhattan after Trinity School. Maybe because of his involvement in sports, John could not invest his valuable time in studying.
At 16, he received six months of suspension from the Port Washington Tennis Academy for doing an adolescent prank.
Thereby, his parents switched him to the Cove Racquet Club. Since early 1977, John’s life began to uplift just after graduating high school.
There he got an opportunity to play in Europe and eventually won the French Juniors Tournament.
Later on, aiming for Junior’s title at Wimbledon, he had to pull out of the event. He even got qualified for the men’s competition.
At the period, John was famous for being the youngest man to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. He got a reputation as tennis’ “bad boy.”
Later, John was voted the Tennis magazine’s Rookie of the year for 1977.
Becoming Pro
In the fall of the same year, John entered Standford University in Palo Alto, California, with a tennis scholarship.
Further, in 1978, he led his school’s tennis team to the NCAA Championship. Adding more and more experiences to his repertoire, John became a pro player.
In 1978, John got eliminated from the first round at Wimbledon but ended in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open.
McEnroe ended the year by archiving the sixth position in the world in singles and fifth in doubles. Additionally, he also committed to Davis Cup play.
Not to mention, coach Tony Trabert handled him under pressure. Besides, they made a victory over England, settling their first-ever U.S. Davis Cup in six years.
He made four singles championships in four months, including a victory over Bjorn Borg on his home turf in Stockholm, Sweden.
Accordingly, in 1978, Tennis Professionals (ATP) honored him with a Newcomer of the Year Award.
Also, in his early twenties, he ranked number four globally.
In the same way, many started to recognize him for his interesting contrast to the machine-gun-like attacks of pro players like Connors and Borg.
By 1979, John was playing pretty maturely, as he didn’t serve to overpower. As a pro player, he had rapid reflexes and exceptional court sense.
He had a clear vision of when and where to place the shots.
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John McEnroe | Wimbledon and Grand Slams
In the entire history of tennis rivalry, the most famous one is between John McEnroe and the calm Swede Bjorn Borg. All this started at the Wimbledon final in July 1980.
The remarkable match between these two rivals lasted for four and a half hours and ended with a 34-point tiebreaker.
Later, Borg became successful in the contest by 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7,8-6. Thus, John enhanced the match as one of the most epic in tennis history.
Back again, they faced each other at the U.S. Open. This time, John took the championship by 7-6, 6-1, 6-7, 5-7, 6-4.
Hence, in 1981 they faced off again for the Wimbledon final. In the same way, John defeated Borg, pulling off a win in four sets.
However, John got the better of Borg in the U.S. Open again.
Despite being unable to achieve Grand Slam in 1982, he continued to win his second Wimbledon defeating Chris Lewis.
Further, up until 1984, John won 82 out of 85 matches.
That includes his fourth WCT final, third U.S. Pro Indoor Championship, and second Grand Prix Masters title.
At last, he clinched his third Wimbledon title and the fourth U.S. Open title. And for the fourth consecutive year, John finished up ranked No.1 position.
John McEnroe | Retirement
With the record of owning some Wimbledon, John McEnroe did not win a single number of Grand Slam events in 1985.
At the same time, he was absent for six months in 1986, while in 1987, John stepped back for months drawing suspension.
Later in 1989, John remained a highly competitive doubles player and achieved U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 1992.
But for some instances, his behavior of misconduct led to disqualification from the 1990 Australian Open in Melbourne.
Altogether, he owes seven career Grand Slam singles championships, nine double titles, one in mixed doubles, and a Davis Cup host.
To conclude, in 1992, John announced his retirement.
In 1999, John McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
John McEnroe vs. Serena Williams
Serena Williams, The King of WTA, is undoubtedly one of the best tennis players in the world.
However, few still criticize William’s legacy in the sports world.
During an NPR interview, John McEnroe quickly backlashed against William’s legacy. He stated,
“If she played the men’s circuit she’d like 700 in the world.”
However, he did state and gave credit where it was due.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player.”
Then again, he added,
“I do, but the reality of what would happen would be, I think, something that perhaps it’d be a little higher, perhaps it’d be a little lower. And on a given day, Serena could beat some players.”
Check out John McEnroe’s forehand grip. Click to watch!
John McEnroe | Married Life
Accordingly, in 1986, John married Tatum O’Neal, an Academy Award winner. Tatum later revealed that she was into women.
But in 1994, they got divorced despite having three children together.
And just three years after a divorce, John married rock singer/songwriter Patty Smyth. He has two more daughters named Anna and Ava from this relationship.
Broadcasting
In 1995, John founded his second career as a television broadcaster but occasionally competed as a player.
During this, he competed for charity, especially for the Arthur Ashe Foundation for awareness about AIDS.
Side by side, John played guitar for the band’s package and Noise Upstairs.
Accordingly, he launched McEnroe Art Gallery in New York to showcase developing artists. Likewise, he opened the John McEnroe Academy in New York in 2010.
TV and Movies
This multitalented player has also devoted himself to the film industry. After hosting The Chair’s game show in 2002, John debuted on a CNBC talk show in 2004.
Similarly, he appeared in the Adam Sandler movies Mr. Deeds (2002) and Anger Management (2003).
He also made it to multiple episodes of the hit show 30 Rock.
Same as to show archival footage of the athlete competing in the 1984 French Open, the doc John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection was made up.
Moreover, honoring John’s iconic rivalry with Borg, there’s the sports film Borg vs. McEnroe was made in April 2018.
And recently, in 2020, John returned to the screen as the surprise narrator of Mindy Kaling’s coming-of-age series Never Have I Ever.
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John McEnroe | Net Worth
It started when John started to play like a pro; immediately, he earned half a million dollars.
Meanwhile, John has been once ranked as the No.1 professional tennis player.
Thus, his estimated net worth is $100 million.
In Addition, he has accumulated $12,552,132 as the total prize money worth $ throughout his sports career.
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John McEnroe | Social Media
McEnroe is present on major social media handles given below:
John McEnroe | Popularity
McEnroe is undoubtedly a legendary name in Men’s Tennis and enjoys fame as a retired sports commentator.
The above Graph illustrates the high interest in John among the people in the last three months.
FAQs
Did John McEnroe graduate from Standford?
After completing high school, McEnroe joined Standford, but he did not complete his graduation.
At what age did John McEnroe retire?
McEnroe announced his retirement at 36 in 1992 but played tennis occasionally in the name of charity.
Why’s John McEnroe famous?
Truly, John McEnroe is famous for being a top-ranked tennis player, also used to be a broadcaster and actor, and for his quotes.
Did Borg and McEnroe get along?
Though their rivalry was shorter than John McEnroe and the general public would have liked, he and Borg became friends off the court.
In 2018, Borg stated, “We call and see each other. That’s very rare in sports in general. We understand each other”
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