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John McEnroe angers fans with comments about French Open winner Iga Swiatek – and confuses others with goodbye message
At the French Open final this past weekend, former tennis pro and commentator John McEnroe both confused – and angered – some fans as he commentated on the two finals matches, including making remarks that some deemed sexist.
When fellow commentator Mary Carillo mentioned that five-time grand slam winner Iga Swiatek turned down a brand partnership from Lancome because she doesn’t wear a lot of makeup, McEnroe’s response raised eyebrows.
After comparing the player to tennis great Rafael Nadal, McEnroe wondered: “You think if they offer her enough, Lancome, maybe she would consider throwing on a little makeup for the right price?”
Swiatek went on to win the French Open final, beating Jasmine Paolini. Some fans were hung up on McEnroe’s comment about the makeup.
“That was sickening,” one person wrote on social media, tagging NBC Sports and other affiliated channels. “It’s time for McEnroe to be GONE as a commentator. See ya.”
Others called him “sexist,” “awful” and a “clown.” This is not the first time McEnroe has received backlash for his remarks about women tennis players.
During a 2017 interview on NPR, McEnroe said Serena Williams was the “best female player ever — no question,” but when asked why he qualifies it as “female,” he said, “if she played the men’s circuit she’d be like 700 in the world.”
In a later interview with “CBS Mornings,” Norah O’Donnell asked him if he’d like to apologize. McEnroe replied: “No.”
Fans were also confused when McEnroe appeared to say goodbye to his commentating job during the French Open – but he might not actually be retiring from the gig.
During the final match on Sunday between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, McEnroe took a moment to thank Mary Carillo, as well as NBC, which was broadcasting the tournament in the U.S.
“While I have a chance, Mary, for all the years, it’s the last set, fifth set, for everything, we’ve worked together so often,” McEnroe said. “Thank you so much. Give me a hug. Love you.”
“NBC, thank you so much. You gave me my first job as a broadcaster,” he continued. “I appreciate that. What a way to go out with this match. Great effort by both guys. I don’t know who’s going to win. Any idea?”
Alcaraz won the match in the fifth set. But some fans were confused by McEnroe’s apparent goodbye to commentating.
He could have, however, been referring to the French Open broadcast specifically. NBC no longer holds the U.S. rights to the French Open, Variety first reported. Warner Bros. now owns the rights, and TNT Sports will be the place to watch the Roland Garros tournament in 2025.
The French Open has been broadcast by NBC in the U.S. since 1983, except for a three-year break, according to Variety.
McEnroe retired from playing singles tennis in 1994 but began working as a commentator for NBC in 1992, starting with the French Open. CBS News reached out to NBC Sports about McEnroe’s employment as a commentator and is awaiting a response.
The seven-time grand slam winner will still lend his analysis at Wimbledon in July, commentating on BBC alongside fellow grand slam winners Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Pat Cash, and Tracy Austin.
McEnroe, known for his colorful language on and off the court, caught attention for other remarks made during the tournament, including his criticism of the schedule.
After Novak Djokovic had to pull out of the tournament due to a knee injury, McEnroe said it was horrible and a joke that the 24-time grand slam winner had to play at 10:30 p.m.
“He’d talked about the knee issue before the tournament. That couldn’t have helped,” McEnroe said while commentating. “And it goes to three in the morning – absurd! If this doesn’t change the mentality of the Majors about this type of scheduling, I don’t know what will. He’s the No.1 player in the world.”
Social media users also criticized his mispronunciation of Zverev’s last name during the final match. McEnroe praised Zverev’s opponent, Alcaraz, as his favorite player to watch, saying he is better than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic at 21.
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President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration starts off with mostly good will from the public: a majority of Americans overall are either happy or at least satisfied that he won and are either excited or optimistic about what he’ll do as president.
Trump’s handling of his presidential transition gets approval from most Americans overall and brings near-universal approval from his voters, along with a net-positive response about his selections for Cabinet posts, in particular, Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Trump’s pick to be secretary of state.
After inflation and the economy so dominated the election, Americans are more inclined to think his administration will bring down prices for food and groceries rather than raise them, and his voters overwhelmingly say that. Going into the election, his backers expected that, too.
In a similar vein, Trump’s election already has some Republicans’ views of the economy improving.
Overall, Republicans today are more excited about what Trump will do as president now than they were in 2016 when he was first elected.
Democrats say they feel more scared about what Trump might do than they did in 2016, and a large majority of Democrats think as president he will threaten their rights and freedoms. But at the same time, there seems to be a sense of exhaustion, as fewer than half of Democrats feel motivated to oppose Trump right now.
Americans, and Democrats specifically, do think the Biden administration should work with the incoming Trump administration to ensure a smooth transition, and that congressional Democrats should work with Donald Trump on issues where they find common ground.
Trump and the economy
After winning comes expectations. There’s a net optimism about the incoming administration’s effect on food and grocery prices, especially among Trump’s voters. That comes as most Americans continue to say prices are currently rising. And inflation was a big factor in Trump winning in the first place.
It may be no surprise then that among many potential items for the incoming administration, Americans say plans to lower prices ought to be the top priority.
The percentage of Republicans who call the U.S. economy good, while still low, has gone up, as the percentage who call it very bad has dropped. That pushes voters’ overall evaluation of the economy slightly higher than it’s been this year — and further spotlights how much partisanship, along with optimism, always plays into these evaluations.
Trump selections of Cabinet and agency chiefs for his administration
Trump’s current selections for agency heads and Cabinet picks get rated overwhelmingly as good choices from Trump’s voters, and are net-positive as selections among Americans who have heard enough about them to say. (Many have not heard enough yet.)
As a general rule, Americans want Trump to appoint people who’ll speak their minds and who have experience in the field or agency they’ll run. But in addition to those qualities, Republicans also want people who’ll be loyal to Trump.
A large majority of Republicans and Trump voters think Elon Musk should have at least some influence in the Trump administration. Americans overall are more split on that, largely along partisan lines.
Big majorities of Americans — and a slight majority of Republicans — would like to see the Senate hold hearings on his nominations, rather than let him make those appointments without it.
(Within self-identified Republicans, MAGA Republicans are relatively more inclined to say the Senate should skip the hearings.)
That sentiment holds whether or not people are told or reminded that the Constitution says the Senate should give advice and consent.
As a general matter, though, most of Trump’s voters and most Republicans do want Trump to have more presidential power this term than he did in his last. That sentiment is higher among Republican voters now than during the campaign.
Trump policies
On another economic front, Trump’s voters overwhelmingly favor the idea of tariffs: most of them don’t believe that will make prices higher. (For the third who believe tariffs will raise prices but support them anyhow, this is presumably a cost they’re willing to bear.)
For the public overall, opposition to tariffs goes hand in hand with the belief they’ll lead to higher prices.
As was the case with voters throughout the campaign, most Americans would, in principle, approve of a new mass deportation program.
If the Trump administration does start a mass deportation program, most of the public would have it carried out by law enforcement or current immigration agencies — most would not have the U.S. military do it.
Elections and democracy
The 2024 results have shifted Republicans’ views of U.S. democracy and also returned some confidence to their view of U.S. elections. Few Republicans suspect fraud in 2024. They overwhelmingly did about 2020.
Following Trump’s victory, there’s been an increase in the number of Republicans who say democracy and rule of law is secure, though most Americans continue to say it is not.
Looking ahead, there’s another shift along partisan lines. Throughout the campaign, Republicans said America’s best days were in its past, while Democrats felt they were in the future. These views are reversed now. After Trump’s win, most Republicans feel America’s best days are in its future.
This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,232 U.S. adults interviewed between November 19-22, 2024. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.3 points.
