Patrick William McEnroe (born July 1, 1966) is an American former professional tennis player, broadcaster, and former captain of the United States Davis Cup team.
Born in Manhasset, New York, he is John McEnroe's youngest brother. He won one singles title and 16 doubles titles, including the 1989 French Open. His career-high rankings were world No. 28 in singles and world No. 3 in doubles.
On May 1, 2023, McEnroe began his tenure as President of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Juniors
McEnroe started playing tennis as a young boy and was taught at the Port Washington Tennis Academy, where his brother John also played. As a junior, Patrick reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the US Open boys' singles in 1983. He partnered with Luke Jensen to win the French junior doubles and the USTA Boys' 18 National and Clay Court titles in 1984. He also made his first impact on the professional tour that year, teaming up with brother John to win the doubles title at Richmond, Virginia. He won the men's doubles gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games with Jensen, and helped Stanford University win the NCAA team championship in 1986 and 1988. While at Stanford, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. McEnroe graduated from Stanford in 1988 with a degree in political science, and then joined the professional tennis tour.
Professional career
In 1989, McEnroe won the French Open men's doubles title and the Masters doubles title, partnering with Jim Grabb.
His first career singles final came in 1991 at Chicago, where he faced his brother John, who won the match 3–6, 6–2, 6–4. (This was the second time in tour history where two brothers faced each other in a tournament final, after Emilio Sánchez and Javier Sánchez met in the Madrid final in 1987.)
His best Grand Slam singles performance came at the 1991 Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals before being knocked-out by eventual-champion Boris Becker. (Commenting on his fellow semifinalists, he told the press: "It's just like you all expected – Edberg, Lendl, McEnroe and Becker".) He was also runner-up in the men's doubles at the Australian Open that year, partnering with his former Stanford teammate David Wheaton.
McEnroe won the men's singles at the Sydney Outdoor Championships in 1995, to claim his only career singles title. He also had some notable Grand Slam singles results that year – beating Boris Becker in the first round of the Australian Open (before eventually losing in the fourth round), and then reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open where he lost to Becker in an epic four-hour and seven-minute four-set marathon.
McEnroe acted as a catalyst for fellow tennis champion (and older brother John's own rival) Jimmy Connors's run during the 1991 US Open. In the first round of the 1991 US Open, McEnroe led Connors two sets and 3–0 in the third set but Connors came back to win in five sets, walking off the court at 1:35 in the morning, after 4 hours and 18 minutes of play.
McEnroe retired from the professional tour in 1998.
Davis Cup
In the Davis Cup, McEnroe represented his country as a doubles player in 1993, 1994 and 1996, compiling a 3–1 record. In 2000, after older-brother John resigned following an unhappy 14-month spell as captain, he was named the 38th captain of the United States Davis Cup team.
With McEnroe as captain, the Davis Cup team won the Cup for the U.S. in December 2007. He resigned the position of team captain on September 6, 2010. His time as captain is the longest of any US Davis Cup captain.
General manager of USTA player development
In 2008, McEnroe became general manager of USTA player development. A series of mandates aimed at promoting junior tennis, including a requirement that all players age ten and under (U10) compete on miniature courts using new lightweight "green dot" tennis balls, have been controversial. The smaller format is designed to make tennis more accessible to children but critics argue that it will inhibit development. Coach Robert Lansdorp said in September 2013 that the format "is wrong for the very talented players" that become champions and noted that Maria Sharapova, Monica Seles and the Williams sisters were already competing on regular courts by age 7.