John McEnroe criticized for ‘Court 21’ quip after Mariano Navone beat Novak Djokovic

Perhaps no figure is more polarizing in tennis media than John Patrick McEnroe Jr.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion joined ESPN in 2009 when the network won rights to the US Open. His broadcasting role has only grown in stature ever since. In 2012, ESPN added Wimbledon to its tennis lineup, with Johnny Mac on the call for the biggest matches of the championship. Add in the Australian Open each January, and even being tapped by TNT Sports for its coverage of the French Open in the network’s first two years broadcasting the event, and McEnroe’s voice is synonymous with men’s tennis during the highest leverage moments of the season.

That’s been a frustration for tennis fans in recent years. Many have called out a seeming lack of preparedness by McEnroe and his grating presence during matches, none more blistering than former Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins after McEnroe’s Wimbledon performance last summer.

Criticism has continued this season, too. Awful Announcing’s go-to tennis voice Daniel Kaplan wrote following this year’s Wimbledon that it was time for the McEnroe era at ESPN to end, citing the stark difference in quality between an analyst like Andy Roddick in the studio and what McEnroe provides in the booth.

Well, it didn’t take long for McEnroe to give his critics even more fodder during the final grand slam of the year. After calling a marathon five-set match between a physically deteriorating Novak Djokovic and Argentine challenger Mariano Navone in the first round of the US Open on Sunday, McEnroe took a potshot at Navone as he celebrated on the court of Arthur Ashe Stadium after the biggest win of his career.

“You’ll be playing your second round on Court 21. We wish you the best.” – John McEnroe after Mariano Navone beats Novak Djokovic in the US Open pic.twitter.com/3mN94Bra5S

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 31, 2026

“You’ll be playing your second round on Court 21. We wish you the best,” McEnroe said in jest.

While the remark was clearly a joke, and some might even venture a funny one, McEnroe critics saw it as an unnecessary jab during the highlight of Navone’s career.

I don’t think any other sport has a commentator as annoying, unprepared, and disrespectful as McEnroe. League of his own

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— Erik Hane (@erikhane.bsky.social) August 31, 2026 at 8:58 AM

I don’t know how he can commentate 747283853 matches a year and still have no regard for players who aren’t famous

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— Cody Fitzpatrick (@codyfitz96.bsky.social) August 31, 2026 at 12:20 AM

McEnroe’s entire attitude towards Navone was despicable from the jump.

— Daniel (@Daniel207410026) August 31, 2026

McEnroe was disrespectful to Navone from the beginning. In the first set he says how great of an opponent Navone is for Djokovic because he won’t challenge him at all. Dude is a tired act, Eubanks or Isner would be significantly better on the call moving forward.

— Matt (@acokenoice) August 31, 2026

I am so fucking tired of John McEnroe

— c. martijn h. (@tijn2001) August 31, 2026

John McEnroe is such a loser. Navone earned the biggest win of his life and immediately gets this said about him https://t.co/t8pZcdxFPF

— Mason💙💛 (@masonyo25) August 31, 2026

The truth is, this is just who McEnroe is. He has a dry sense of humor that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That can be overlooked if the quality of the analysis is there. But for many tennis fans, the lack of quality analysis makes it easy to jump on moments like this to discredit him. And as the noise around McEnroe continues to get louder, every misstep becomes a story, and more people begin to question whether he is truly the best man for the job.