It hasn’t been an easy year for tennis commentators. Earlier this season, American legend John McEnroe faced major flak for his commentary at the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships. At the ongoing US Open, his compatriot, Chris Evert, has been drawn into a similar controversy due to major slipups during the third-round clash of Coco Gauff against Elina Svitolina. Subsequently, fans vented their frustration at Evert for her poor commentary skills.

Despite Svitolina dominating the proceedings early on in the match, Evert constantly praised Gauff and talked only about her while not recognizing Svitolina’s efforts. As a result, she faced heat from fans, who had already been unhappy with Evert’s commentary at the US Open. This isn’t the first time that Evert was embroiled in a controversy. The fans earlier called her out over insensitive comments about Naomi Osaka.

Although Evert was only praising Osaka’s outfit, as she said, “I like the dress…it suits her, it suits the Japanese culture,” some of the fans didn’t take kindly to it and accused Evert of taking a dig at the Japanese culture. And today, again, when Evert made slip-ups in the commentary box, frustration got high among the fans, and some couldn’t keep calm, venting their anger at her.

Chris Evert faces the wrath of fans during Coco Gauff’s match

During the match, Evert was constantly hyping up Gauff and praising her despite Svitolina winning the opening set. The Ukrainian star dominated the proceeding early on in the match, winning the first set comfortably 6-3. One fan was tired of Evert’s constant praise of Gauff and commented, “Anyone else want to turn the sound off because of Chris Evert? There are 2 people playing here. Not just Coco.”

Subsequently, another fan had similar thoughts about Evert only talking about Gauff’s game. The fan said, “Chris Evert slobbering over Gauff nauseating and her whispering awful mute espn dump Evert.” As if this wasn’t enough, Evert made a major blunder during the match. She allegedly mentioned on air that Svitolina had won her first WTA title last year in Strasbourg. However, a fan correctly pointed out that Svitolina has already won 17 WTA titles during her career. “Chris Evert just said Svitolina won her first WTA title last year in Strasbourg….she has 17 titles,” the fan wrote.

Another major point of discussion has been the constant talking by the commentators, even during the points, which has frustrated many fans. Earlier this year, John McEnroe was called out for the very same reason, and this time, it was Evert’s turn. A fan slammed her in this regard, saying, “#USOpen, does Chris Evert get paid by the syllable? She won’t stop talking, even during points. Evert said Svitolina can give Gael discipline, which she comes by naturally. Who comes by discipline naturally? All kinds of coded nonsense.” 

Despite Evert’s slip-us during commentary in recent times, she is still on ESPN’s panel of commentators and has no plans to call it quits. As a result, one fan made a brutal ask, “Can someone please fire Chris Evert?” It is high time that the commentators get their act together and minimize such mistakes. Otherwise, the broadcasting and the viewership of tennis might take a drastic hit.