John McEnroe Won’t Apologize for Saying Serena Williams Would be ‘No. 700 in the World’ if She Played Men
Does Johnny Mac have a point here?
Famously hotheaded tennis legend John McEnroe doesn’t seem to care about rocking the boat—or upsetting a pregnant lady.
In a recent interview with NPR, Johnny Mac stated that he would not put Serena Williams in the category of greatest tennis players of all time. In fact, he claims that if she played on the men’s circuit, she’d be “like No. 700 in the world.”
Here’s more from ESPN, where he works as a tennis analyst:
That doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player. I do. But the reality of what would happen on a given day is Serena could beat some players, I believe, because she is so incredibly strong mentally. But if she had to just play the circuit — the men’s circuit — that would be an entirely different story.
The pregnant Williams didn’t take the comment sitting down—she was quick to smash a couple of returns via Twitter.
Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 26, 2017
I've never played anyone ranked "there" nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I'm trying to have a baby. Good day sir
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 26, 2017
Later, on an appearance on CBS This Morning on Tuesday, McEnroe would not apologize for his comments. He claimed that he “didn’t know it would create controversy.”
Michael Rapaport, for one, doesn’t think folks should be mad at McEnroe—they should direct their ire towards God instead.
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/879707028159172610
Clearly having moved on from this controversy, Williams tweeted out this image of her looking ultra fierce and very pregnant on the cover of the latest issue of Vanity Fair…
Check out my Vanity Fair Cover. Question- what do u guys think boy or girl? I'm waiting to find out but would love to hear your thoughts. pic.twitter.com/Nnq4VKCu8N
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 27, 2017
To put things in perspective, Williams has 23 singles and 14 doubles Grand Slams while Roger Federer has 18 singles and zero doubles.
h/t: ESPN
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