John McEnroe admits BBC exit ‘inevitable’ and reveals Sue Barker Wimbledon wish
ohn McEnroe “wishes” Sue Barker was still the face of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage. But the seven-time Grand Slam champion knows it is inevitable that the broadcaster is moving with the times.
Long-standing lead commentator Andrew Castle called his final match at the Championships earlier this year, before stepping away from the Beeb. Castle, 62, was no longer going to be the main commentator for the men’s singles final, though it is understood he could have remained part of the BBC team had he wished. Castle instead chose to leave the BBC entirely.
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here has been a desire to modernise the public service broadcaster’s Wimbledon offering, and McEnroe has been one of their long-serving pundits.
The former world No.1 hasn’t noticed any huge changes yet, though he misses Barker, who fronted the Championships for the final time in 2022 before being replaced by Clare Balding.
McEnroe, 67, said: “BBC has been great to me because they said just be you, which I think is the key in a way to success in anything.
“You got to be yourself, be authentic. I think Sue Barker was great, personally. I sort of wish she was still there, and I’m betting you a lot of other people do.
But inevitably, my time will come, and you know everyone’s time comes. I’m not sure exactly what the changes were they were doing. I didn’t see a whole lot of change in my book.
“As far as the coverage went, I didn’t notice a big change. Andrew Castle did his last year. I thought he did a great job.
“I don’t necessarily know why suddenly they decided they didn’t want to do it with him, unless it’s just inevitable that at some point, we’re all [gone]. You just hang in there as long as you can.
