M
McEnroe, John
Identification American tennis player
Born February 16, 1959; Wiesbaden, West
Germany (now in Germany)
McEnroe became known not only for his extraordinar y skill
as a tennis player but also for his fier y outbursts of temper in
the midst of matches.
As a freshman at Stanford University in 1978, John
McEnroe won the National Collegiate Athletic Asso-
ciation (NCAA) Tennis Championship. With this
victory and other successes as an amateur tennis
player, McEnroe decided that he should leave Stan-
ford and become a professional tennis player. In
1979, he won his first Grand Slam title, the U.S.
Open singles title, defeating his close friend and fel-
low American tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis. At the
time, McEnroe was the second youngest person to
win the title. During the year, he won a total of
twenty-seven titles, including ten in singles and sev-
enteen in doubles. McEnroe was quickly establish-
ing himself as one of the best tennis players in the
world. He was also gaining a reputation for his vio-
lent outbursts on the court. By March of 1980,
McEnroe had become ranked as the number one
player in the world. In addition to his skill as a singles
player, he and his doubles partner Peter Fleming
constituted one of the most potent doubles teams in
the history of tennis. McEnroe was one of the few top
singles players to compete in doubles. He believed
that his overall game was improved by competing in
both singles and doubles.
McEnroe was noted for the unique corkscrew mo-
tion of his serve and for his brilliant volleying skills,
honed in doubles play. As a left-handed player, he
took inspiration from a great Australian player of the
1960’s, Rod Laver. McEnroe was the dominant fig-
ure in men’s tennis during the early 1980’s. Some of
his most memorable matches were against such fierce
competitors as Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg, and
Ivan Lendl. McEnroe won the U.S. Open three years
in a row, from 1979 to 1981. In 1981, he also won
Wimbledon. Because of his court behavior that year
at Wimbledon, though, he was fined $1,500. Mc-
Enroe went so far as to call the umpire, Ted James,
“the pits of the world.” McEnroe would use the phrase
“you cannot be serious” whenever he disagreed with
a call. The British press gave him the name “Super-
Brat.” Although he lost to Connors in the 1982John McEnroe celebrates his victory over Björn Borg to win the
1981 men’s singles championship at Wimbledon.(AP/Wide
World Photos)