‘We Were Oil and Water’- John McEnroe Makes Emotional Confession After Tragic Demise of Legendary Wimbledon Referee

On 18 January 2024, Alan Mills, the legendary Wimbledon referee passed away. Mills has been a long-serving Wimbledon referee who always made his presence felt from the courtside during 1983 and 2005. His tragic demise has brought several sad reactions from the tennis world, including John McEnroe.

Mills had felt with the most unruly generation of players in the history of the racket sport. The 88-year-old Englishman had previously been a player and coach in his career. His contributions to tennis have been enormous. Mills was even awarded an OBE in 1996 and a CBE in 2006 for his contribution to the sporting world. And, here’s what John McEnroe had to say about this tennis legend.

John McEnroe says Alan Mills was a good man

The three-time Wimbledon champion, John McEnroe has some of the memorable moments on the court with Alan Mills. Mills who initially started as an assistant referee to Fred Hoyles, had stepped down at SW19 in 2005. But he continued to act as a referee at some WTA, ATP, and ATP Champions Tour events until 2015. Mills had also earned the nickname of ‘Rain Man’ for his role in deciding whether the weather should halt play.

Talking about this legendary Wimbledon referee McEnroe said, “Alan was a good man. We were oil and water, I suppose. But I think there’s a certain camaraderie in the tennis world.” The 64-year-old American tennis legend went on to add, “He was a former player and he wasn’t looking to be in the limelight. Some umpires, you know, want to be part of the action. I can’t say I blame them in a way, because if you do a good job as an umpire no one knows who you are. But I give him credit, because he always kept his composure.”

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The tragic demise of Alan Mills has brought in several other reactions from the tennis fraternity. And here’s what another former Wimbledon referee had to say about Mills.

Gerry Armstrong paid a tribute to the former Wimbledon referee

Armstrong’s career as a tennis official began way back in 1973 when he was only 18 years old. He was then the line judge of the Wimbledon Championships. Then 9 years later, he became a full-time chair umpire at Wimbledon. Armstrong became the Championships referee in 2020 but stood down from it in 2023. So, just like Mills even Armstrong had a long career at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club.

Here’s what he said on the demise of this former legendary referee, “Alan was a great influence on myself and many officials around the world. He was always helpful and encouraging during the years we worked together at Wimbledon and on the ATP Tour. It was a great honour to work alongside him in professional tennis for many decades.”

Gerry Armstrong currently serves as the Supervisor in ATP, and even he has shared some memorable moments with John McEnroe on the court. Can you recall some of them?

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