John McEnroe has admitted he misses Sue Barker being the host of the BBC's Wimbledon coverage, while acknowledging that his own exit from the broadcaster is "inevitable".
The seven-time Grand Slam champion, who has been a long-serving pundit for the BBC, said he "wishes" Barker was still the face of the broadcaster's Wimbledon offering. However, he understands that the BBC is moving with the times.
Castle's departure
Long-standing lead commentator Andrew Castle called his final match at the Championships earlier this year before leaving the BBC. Castle, 62, was no longer going to be the main commentator for the men's singles final, though it is understood he could have remained part of the BBC team had he wished. Instead, he chose to leave the BBC entirely.
There has been a desire to modernise the public service broadcaster's Wimbledon offering, with McEnroe among those who have been part of the team for many years.
McEnroe's view on changes
The former world No.1 said he hasn't noticed any huge changes yet, but he misses Barker, who fronted the Championships for the final time in 2022 before being replaced by Clare Balding.
McEnroe, 67, said: "BBC has been great to me because they said just be you, which I think is the key in a way to success in anything.
"You got to be yourself, be authentic. I think Sue Barker was great, personally. I sort of wish she was still there, and I'm betting you a lot of other people do.
"But inevitably, my time will come, and you know everyone's time comes. I'm not sure exactly what the changes were they were doing. I didn't see a whole lot of change in my book.
"As far as the coverage went, I didn't notice a big change. Andrew Castle did his last year. I thought he did a great job.
"I don't necessarily know why suddenly they decided they didn't want to do it with him, unless it's just inevitable that at some point, we're all [gone]. You just hang in there as long as you can."
