Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but former tennis star John McEnroe is in the press again, and it’s not for a good reason.
Leading up to the release of his new book “But Seriously,” McEnroe went on NPR to discuss the memoir with Lulu Garcia-Navarro. And during the questioning, Serena Williams came up and McEnroe had quite the hot take on the superstar.
While he stated there was no doubt Williams was the best female tennis player ever, he had a bit of a different tune when asked how she would fare against the best male players in the world.
“If she played the men’s circuit she’d be like 700 in the world,” McEnroe said, as transcribed by For The Win’s Luke Kerr-Dineen.
McEnroe tried his best to praise Williams, but ultimately, he ended up doing more harm than good.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player,” McEnroe said. “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. I believe because she’s so incredibly strong mentally that she could overcome some situations where players would choke ’cause she’s been in it so many times, so many situations at Wimbledon, The U.S. Open, etc. But if she had to just play the circuit — the men’s circuit — that would be an entirely different story.”
McEnroe, 60, also claimed he could beat Williams in a match if they played today.
Williams is one of the best players, male or female, in the history of the game. Plus, she recently won the Australian Open while being eight weeks pregnant, so add that to the list of things McEnroe should think about before he gives another scolding take.
Thumbnail photo via Susan Mullane/USA TODAY Sports Images
