"He is one of the most popular and respected pundits in tennis": BBC defend paying McEnroe over £200,000 to commentate on Wimbledon despite not being used in Alcaraz Final

The British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) has reportedly defended paying former world number one John McEnroe over £200,000 to work in Wimbledon.

The 64-year-old was one of the most prominent figures working for the BBC during the third Grand Slam of the year.

A recent report published in The Times suggested that the BBC ended up paying somewhere between £204,000 to £209,000 for his services during the competition.

That report did not go down well in the UK as the BBC is a public service broadcaster and even more so because McEnroe did not even commentate in the final of the mega-event between Spain’s young star Carlos Alcaraz and Serbia’s legendary tennis player Novak Djokovic.

However, as per the latest report, some insiders within the organisation have defended their decision of paying a huge chunk to McEnroe.

“He is one of the most popular and respected pundits in tennis,” the insider told The Times. “And he provides a unique perspective to our coverage.”

McEnroe is one of the most successful American players in the history of men’s singles tennis in the Open era, having won seven Grand Slams in his illustrious career including four US Open titles.