He joined the ATP Champions Tour in 1998 and has won more than 20 titles. He is credited in taking the Champions Tour to previously unseen levels of popularit, forcing his rivals to get back into peak physical condition. In October 2010, he won the Champions Tour title in Paris at age 51, defeating long time rival Ivan Lendl enroute. He is currently ranked No. 3 in the Champions Tour rankings.

John McEnroe won seven Grand Slam singles titles – three at Wimbledon and four at the US Open – nine Grand Slam men’s doubles titles, and one Grand slam mixed doubles title. He also won the season-ending Masters Championships three times.

He is remembered for his shot-making artistry and supreme volleying; for his matches against Bjorn Borg; for his confrontational on-court behaviour, which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities; and for the catchphrase “You cannot be serious!” directed toward an umpire during a match at Wimbledon in 1981.

He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.

McEnroe won a total of 155 top-level titles (a record for a male professional) during his career – 84 in singles (including 77 listed on the website maintained by the ATP), 70 in men’s doubles, and 1 in mixed doubles. His career singles match record was 864-194 (81.66%). He held the season ending No. 1 ranking for 4 years in a row from 1981-84.

After a 12-year absence from the professional tour, McEnroe returned to top-level doubles competition in 2006 and became the oldest male player to win a top-level title (doubles – with Bjorkman) in 30 years at San Jose.

In 1980, McEnroe reached the men’s singles final at Wimbledon for the first time, where he faced Bjorn Borg, who was gunning for his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. The match itself was arguably the greatest Wimbledon final ever. In a fourth-set tiebreaker that lasted 20 minutes, McEnroe saved five match points and eventually won 18-16. McEnroe, however, could not break Borg’s serve in the fifth set, which the Swede won 8-6. This match was called the best Wimbledon final by ESPN’s countdown show “Who’s Number One?” and “one of the three or four greatest sporting events in history.” McEnroe exacted revenge two months later, beating Borg in the five-set final of the 1980 US Open.

Since the ATP computer rankings began, McEnroe and Stefan Edberg are the only men to be ranked World No. 1 in both singles and doubles.