"Pretty much everything that I said I wouldn’t do, I’ve done": John McEnroe opens up about breaking vows on and off the court

Former world number one John McEnroe has revealed that he broke a lot of vows in his professional career, which included winning a Wimbledon title after deciding never to play it again. The 65-year-old has a very successful career in the singles category, lifting as many as seven Grand Slam titles.

McEnroe, now a famous commentator, was recently quoted in a report stating that he broke many vows in his professional career, both while playing days and afterwards. After deciding never to play it again, he revealed that he even won a Wimbledon title.

“Pretty much everything that I said I wouldn’t do, I’ve done,” he said. “You know, I’ll never play seniors tennis, never commentate. I wouldn’t be caught dead doing that. “I win the tournament [Wimbledon]. And I’m like, having said, I’m never coming back. And I felt like right at that moment I could fly. Like I could fly out of the stadium. I was like the relief and just the joy was so great. And then I remember by five minutes later, like, I want to win this again, I got to come back here.”

McEnroe ended up winning the Wimbledon title three times in his career. His first triumph came in 1981 when he defeated the former world number one Sweden’s Bjorn Borg in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 4–6, 7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–4), 6–4. Two years later in 1983, the Wiesbaden-born star defeated Australia’s Chris Lewis in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. In 1984, McEnroe third and last Wimbledon title as he defeated fellow American and the former world number one Jimmy Connors in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. Other than that, McEnroe also won four US Open titles, nine Grand Slams in the doubles category, seven Tour Finals and was a five-time Davis Cup winner.