“I was embarrassed to return back to work”: US Open staff worker slams John McEnroe for ‘dismissive’ and ‘hurtful’ comments

Former world number one John McEnroe has landed himself in hot water after an unwanted comment towards one member of the staff at the US Open. The 66-year-old, who has been a regular feature in the tennis broadcast industry over the last 15 years, has a habit of making controversial comments, which often cause controversy.

Earlier this year, McEnroe made a controversial comment after the French Open final during the BBC’s coverage that, in his opinion, the 14-time French Open winner will not start as a favourite while playing against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz or Italy’s Jannik Sinner, even if he were playing at his peak. Those comments led to McEnroe receiving a lot of criticism, especially from the fans on social media.

It seems that McEnroe has not learnt from that mistake and made another controversial comment, this time during the US Open. The incident took place during the quarterfinal between the former world number one, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, and America’s Taylor Fritz. In that contest, Djokovic came out on top in four sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

During the match, McEnroe, who was working as a commentator for ESPN, made a controversial comment about an older member of the staff who was trying to help the players. McEnroe said “thank you, grandma” when the lady appeared on screen and further went on to say that it was a ‘good time for her age group’. Those comments did not go down well with the lady who was later identified as Susan Perkins.

Perkins spoke to Sportkeeda, where she lambasted McEnroe for making those comments. Perkins stated that those comments coming from a former world number one were ‘dismissing’ and highlighted that she felt she was ‘mocked’ by McEnroe. Perkins noted that she was just ‘doing her job’ and said comments such as ‘grandma’ were ‘hurtful' rather than 'humorous’.

“I would like to tell John McEnroe that his comments such as “good time for her age group” and “grandma” felt dismissive and hurtful rather than humorous,” said Perkins. “I was simply doing my job delivering a restrung racket to a player. His job is to comment on the players, not other people working on the court. It is one thing to jest, it’s another to stereotype someone based on age.”

Perkins further went on to highlight that she has been working at the tennis court for the last 20 years and that she loved ‘every minute of it’ until this year. Perkins stated that after hearing McEnroe’s comment, she did not even want to go out on the court, in fear that someone would say something similar about her. Perkins

“I’ve worked at the US Open for years and spent that time supporting the sport with pride and professionalism, yet those comments made me feel invisible and mocked,” said Perkins. “I have worked as a court attendant for the last 20 years, starting when my own children were ball persons. I enjoy the sport of tennis and give up my two weeks vacation in August to work there. I have loved every minute of this up until this year. After McEnroe’s comments, I did not even want to go out onto the court, afraid that he might say more derogatory things about me.”

Perkins stated that she was ‘embarrassed’ to walk back on the court and highlighted that she is a ‘professional woman’ and that such comments ‘greatly affected’ her ability to perform her duties. “I was constantly looking up into the ESPN booth,” said Perkins. “In addition, I am a professional woman who works as a therapist during the year. I was embarrassed to return back to work after the tournament, worried what people would say after hearing what was said about me on the court. This has greatly affected my ability to do my job, both on and off the court.”