‘Gotta Be the Worst Movie..’ – John McEnroe Reminisces Starring in a Tennis Movie and How Adam Sandler Made Him Happy

Known as the ‘Superbrat’, John McEnroe has been one of the most entertaining personalities, both on and off the court. Although many fans knew him for his outbursts on the court, many forget he was also an exceptional tennis player.

Throughout his illustrious career, he achieved many things. However, off the court, he once had an acting gig. Unfortunately, the former American tennis player’s acting experience was not really a great one, as he vowed to never act again. Interestingly, Hollywood actor Adam Sandler was the one who brought him back to acting.

John McEnroe talks about his hilarious acting gig

In a recent Empire film podcast, McEnroe opened up about his experience acting in a tennis movie called, ‘Players’. He said, “I did a movie in 1979, it was called ‘Players’, a tennis movie… I remember watching this, this is gotta be the worst movie I’ve ever seen. I did one scene and Robert Evans of all people who produced the ‘Godfather’, the greatest movie ever, he directed my scene… he was like, this part’s really important. And none of that was in that movie. They cut the whole part, almost all the part out of my thing.“

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Later, McEnroe talked about returning to acting, thanks to Adam Sandler. “I go like, ‘I’m never doing another movie’… But 20 years later, Adam Sandler gives me a call and he says ‘hey I got this part in ‘Mr. Deeds’. And then, this thing just seems to work for whatever reason… And the entire part was on screen, the whole thing,” McEnroe further said. 

McEnroe’s career highlights

In his entire career, McEnroe won 77 singles titles and 72 doubles titles, along with 7 Grand Slam singles titles. Moreover, he achieved the no.1 ranking in both singles and doubles.

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Despite his tremendous success on the tennis court, his on-court behavior was criticized by many on numerous occaions. During the first round match at Wimbledon in 1981, he got into an argument with the chair umpire over a line call. He shouted, “You cannot be serious” at the chair umpire, one of the most infamous phrases ever uttered in a tennis match. Later, McEnroe wrote an autobiography and named it, ‘You Cannot be Serious’.

Currently, the former player has been doing commentary on TV networks covering various Grand Slam events. Recently, we heard his expert opinions during the Wimbledon Championships 2022. Now, he will most likely appear at the US Open as well.