"I don't understand why people feel it's necessary... They don't play basketball outdoors" - When John McEnroe called clay 'outdated'

John McEnroe called clay "outdated" many years back and said that he didn't understand the necessity to play on the surface.

The American entered the 1985 French Open as the top seed and World No. 1, a year after losing in the final.

During the tournament, McEnroe voiced his opinion that he found the surface outdated and questioned the necessity of playing on it.

"I guess I have to look at it as a challenge. Personally, I feel it (clay) is outdated. I don't understand why people feel it's neccessary to play on clay. They don't play basketball outdoors anymore," John McEnroe said as quoted by UPI.

The American also stated that he would rather prefer to play on grass, another surface he called "outdated":

"I'd rather play on grass, it suits my game better, but I think they are two surfaces that are becoming outdated."

McEnroe cruised to the quarterfinals of the French Open in 1985 by bagging straight-set wins over Ronald Agenor, Florin Segarceanu, Marcos Hocevar and 12th seed Hendrik Sundstrom. He then edged out seventh seed Joakim Nystrom 6-7, 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to reach the semifinals of the clay-court Major for the second straight year.

McEnroe faced fourth seed Mats Wilander in the final four and lost 1-6, 5-7, 5-7. The Swede went on to win the tournament by beating Ivan Lendl 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the title clash.

John McEnroe won four singles titles on clay during his career

John McEnroe pictured at an NBA match between Oklahoma Thunder and LA Lakers in 2024

John McEnroe didn't enjoy as much success on clay as he did on other surfaces, yet he still secured four titles, all of which were at tournaments that are now defunct.

The first came at the South Orange Open in the United Kingdom in 1979, where he beat John Lloyd 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-0 in the final. The American's second title on clay came in 1981 at the Pepsi Grand Slam of Tennis in Boca Raton, beating Guillermo Vilas 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-0 in the final.

John McEnroe's third title on clay was the 1983 WCT Tournament of Champions, where he triumphed 6-3, 7-5 over Vitas Gerulaitis in the final. He successfully defended his title a year later by defeating Ivan Lendl 6-4, 6-2.

The American never won the French Open, with his best performance being reaching the final in 1984, only to lose 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 to Lendl.