At various points during their US Open coverage this year, ESPN has had to go without both McEnroe brothers due to COVID-19. Patrick and John McEnroe have worked on ESPN’s tennis coverage since 1995 and 1999 respectively, but John had to miss some of the early tournament after testing positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 29. And now, ahead of the men’s singles semifinals Friday, the women’s singles final Saturday, the women’s doubles final Sunday, and the men’s singles final Sunday, Patrick has also had to withdraw due to COVID-19. He and ESPN announced that Friday afternoon:
“Yep, back in the basement, everyone. I was here back when it all started, I’m back again. My third bout with COVID. Luckily, I can say that I’m feeling pretty good. But I won’t be able to be at the US Open this weekend. I tested positive this morning. I’m watching [Novak] Djokovic give another masterclass against [Ben] Shelton at the moment, so I hope you’re enjoying the tennis.”
“Thanks for all the well wishes. I had a great first 11 days, 10 days or so of the US Open, and now, like you, I’ll be watching from my basement. My wife, as always, taking care of me and my girls. So I’ll be down here. I’ll enjoy, and I hope you do the same. I’ll try to keep you entertained and post via Twitter if I can.”
The 57-year-old McEnroe has been a key part of ESPN’s tennis coverage for decades now in addition to other tennis roles he’s held, from U.S. Davis Cup captain through general manager of USTA player development through his current role as president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Rhode Island. And he’s a voice many are used to hearing on ESPN coverage, along with his brother, and it’s quite unusual to see both hit by COVID during the same tournament. We wish Patrick the best in his recovery.
[Patrick McEnroe on Twitter]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.