Before she was a mainstay on SportsCenter, Chris McKendry was a Division I tennis player at Drexel University. As she worked her way up the broadcasting ladder, eventually anchoring ESPN’s flagship show and reporting on various sports including the X-Games and Women’s World Cup soccer, she never lost her passion for the sport. Now she’ll get a chance to focus solely on tennis as she signed a new contract with ESPN where she will “focus on tennis, continuing to front ESPN’s start-to-finish and extensive coverage of three of the sport’s Majors – the Australian and US Opens and Wimbledon.”
“On July 27, 1996, I made my SportsCenter debut,” McKendry recalls. “A newly hired reporter visiting Bristol, I was just a fill in. I never left. I found myself next to those whose talents, personalities and reputations initially scared me to death only to realize that I had found what would be my home for nearly 20 years.
“But when ESPN first assigned me to the Australian Open in 2010, I knew instantly that I was working on my future. I’ve decided the future is now. Wimbledon is one of sports’ most iconic competitions and venues, and that’s where you’ll find me next. I have a seat there because of the seat I’ve occupied on SportsCenter. For that, I am forever grateful.”
Having debuted on July 27, 1996, McKendry’s final SportsCenter show as a host will be 11 a.m., Thursday, March 31.
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