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John McEnroe has received flak from the tennis world for his remarks about Shang Juncheng, the first male player from China to win an Australian Open main-draw singles match in the Open Era.
Juncheng, also known as Jerry, is just 17 years old. When the 2022 season began, the youngster was ranked 666th in the world, and by the end of the year, he had become the World No. 192.
Juncheng won all three of his qualifying matches at the 2023 Australian Open, including a clash against Spain's Fernando Verdasco. The rising Chinese star defeated Germany's Oscar Otte 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 in the opening round of the main draw but bowed out in the second as Frances Tiafoe beat him in straight sets.
Former World No. 1 John McEnroe reportedly poked fun at Juncheng on ESPN for his nickname 'Jerry'. He said:
"What is this Chinese guy's name? Jerry? How did they come up with Jerry? Is he the only guy from China named Jerry? Did his parents watch Tom and Jerry?"
The comments have not gone down well with fans. Twitter users have slammed the seven-time Grand Slam champion, with some suggesting that he should not be allowed to continue as an analyst. Many even labeled him racist and ignorant.
"Yes Mac, it's because his parents were huge Tom and Jerry fans. What an ignorant, insensitive and racist comment," a fan tweeted.
"The way they discuss the Asian players has always been so cringe and disrespectful. I even recall when they bring up the order of play, they refuse to say Qinwen Zheng’s name — they just kept saying “Chinese Superstar” because they didn’t want to attempt the pronunciation," a user wrote.
"Amazing that McEnroe kept his job after his epic failures at competence, but it would be a real sin if he kept it after this," another tweet read.
Here are some more reactions:
"At 36, your body can only take so much" - John McEnroe on Rafael Nadal
After Alexander Zverev predicted that Rafael Nadal would retire at the 2023 French Open a few days ago, John McEnroe joined the debate, saying that the Spaniard would continue as long as he thinks he can win Grand Slam titles.
“Obviously, at 36, your body can only take so much. At some point, it is going to give out. Will it be this year? I don't know. Next year? How much longer can he do this at this level? And he doesn't want to be, you know, 10 in the world or 20. As soon as he feels like he can't win Majors, he's going to stop," John McEnroe said.
The 22-time Major champion crashed out of the 2023 Australian Open in the second round with a straight-sets defeat against America's Mackenzie McDonald on Wednesday.
