‘Felt Like a Real Rock Group’- John McEnroe Reveals How He Was Touring When He Was a Proper Music Star

Tennis is a sport that engulfs the entire calendar year, leaving only a few weeks for the players to do things they relish. Especially for top players, who have thousands of eyes on them, the pressure is unreal, and the schedule is hectic. It has been like that since the time of players such as John McEnroe who, with their on-court performances and antics, garnered more fans.

McEnroe used to travel around the world throughout the year, starting his tour with Australia and ending it in America. And this regime made him sacrifice things such as giving time to his musical talents. Though, after saying goodbye to professional tennis, the veteran embraced his second love.

The musical talents of John McEnroe

After giving tennis his best years, the seven-time Grand Slam champion turned his focus toward music. He recently detailed his journey as an artist and how it kept his otherwise sinking boat afloat. “I was the greatest, most traveled, not greatest, I should say. When I went out on in ’94, I was in the midst of a pretty bad divorce, a little bit lost, trying to sort of just figure out how to spend some time.”

Thereafter, he spoke about how Italy became the first platform ever to bask in his talent. The 1984 French Open finalist said, “My agent at the time was Italian, so we had this idea to do this tour of Italy. It was the first tour. I played 12 shows in 14 days. I had a couple of young guys with me.”

” They’re playing stadiums. That was fun. I felt like a real rock group. I was like, Wow. This is part of why I played tennis, because you’re out there on your own and you don’t have to worry about all these other guys,” he added. In 1994, McEnroe took retirement from singles with 77 singles trophy and a career-high ranking of World no.1 under his name.

Read more: ‘Being Hunted More..’ – John McEnroe Reveals the Humongous Mental Pressure Top Players Have on a Daily Basis

However, he continued to play in doubles category for 12 more years. In 2006, after banking 78 titles and the crown of World No.1 in doubles, he said his final goodbye to professional tennis.

The damage McEnroe’s first marriage caused

The three-time Wimbledon champion tied the knot with the Academy Award winner Tatum O’Neal in 1986. Needless to say, the surveillance of media on him and his on-court performances increased many folds after the union. As non-tennis O’Neal fans also wanted to know if the man was worthy of their star.

Watch this story: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, and Others In The Greatest Comebacks in Tennis

Thus, the couple’s marriage faced some serious problems and it, in turn, affected the American legend’s performance on the ATP tour heavily. So much so that his 1984 US Open title became his last Grand Slam title in singles.