"That’s part of the frustration, people keep talking about it" - When John McEnroe was annoyed by controversy over his bold Serena Williams claim

John McEnroe once stirred controversy with his controversial claim about how Serena Williams would fare on the men's tour. McEnroe later voiced frustration over the backlash and discourse his remarks generated.

In a 2017 interview with NPR, McEnroe expressed his belief that Williams would be "ranked 700 in the world" if she competed on the ATP Tour despite all her remarkable achievements in the women's game. The 23-time Grand Slam champion was unimpressed by McEnroe's comments as she publicly asked him to exclude her from statements that were "not factually based" and urged him to "respect her privacy" while she was expecting her first daughter Olympia.

With the likes of Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and Brad Gilbert also publicly disagreeing with John McEnroe, the former World No. 1 found himself at the center of a major controversy. Speaking on a conference call for ESPN that same year, McEnroe voiced frustration with the continued discourse about what he considered an irrelevant topic.

"I don’t think it’s relevant and that’s part of the frustration I’m having, that people keep talking about it. It doesn’t seem like we hear about it in other sports. I continue not to understand why it’s such a topic of conversation," McEnroe said.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion acknowledged that it would've been more prudent to reject the comparison and simply praise Williams' skills. McEnroe also said he had immense respect for his fellow American and made it clear that it wasn't his intention to disparage her.

"I’m sure, perhaps, it would be better to have said she’s a great player and it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Maybe I would have been better not to have said it. I didn’t realise it would create something like this but maybe it’s better if it hadn’t been said because I have a lot of respect for Serena. I think that people who know me know that," he added.

John McEnroe went on to say that he hadn't expected his opinion about Serena Williams to garner such a strong reaction, arguing that it "wasn't earth shattering [to say] that there was a difference between the men and the women."

"We’ve been through this story before with Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf" - Chris Evert on John McEnroe's controversial remarks about Serena Williams

Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Chris Evert - Source: Getty

On a different ESPN conference call, Chris Evert addressed John McEnroe's controversial claim and deemed the entire discussion about where WTA players would rank among men to be irrelevant. She also pointed out that, like Serena Williams, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova had also been subjected to such baseless comparisons.

"I feel like it’s irrelevant. I feel like we’ve been through this story before with Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. They were questioned, too, where would they be in the men’s ranking. It doesn’t mean anything," Evert said.

Evert further asserted that Williams' ability to beat certain men's players would depend on how their playing styles matched up rather than skill alone.

"I also feel if, and I hate to say it, but if Serena Williams played the No. 200 male player, she might beat him. If she played the No. 500 man, she might lose to him. It depends on their styles, how the games match up. So that’s my answer. My first answer is, who cares, it’s irrelevant, we’ve been through it before," she added.

Similarly, Martina Navratilova chastised John McEnroe over his comments about Serena Williams and called him out for having a "knack for creating controversy where there is none."