Mayhem in Melbourne: John McEnroe's 1990 default from the Australian Open is revisited

It's in the form of a podcast which includes players and others who were there on the day at a stadium that was later to be named Rod Laver Arena. AO Originals released this week the first episode of a four-part podcast series called “ SNAP: The John McEnroe Default Saga.”

The podcast has contributions from recognizable tennis names including Jim Courier, Tim Henman, Todd Woodbridge, Pat Cash, former Australian Open chief Paul McNamee, Patrick McEnroe and Barbara Schett.

“It’s a moment that transcends tennis. People still talk about it decades later because it changed the way the sport is officiated and perceived,” said Woodbridge, a 22-time Grand Slam doubles champion from Australia.

The opening minutes of the podcast’s first episode don’t mince words from McEnroe — 'you’re a disgrace … this is unacceptable,” among them, while Courier adds that McEnroe knew “exactly how to push the boundaries” to get what he wanted.

Except that he pushed it too far that Sunday in a fourth-round match against Swedish player Mikael Pernfors, when temperatures were around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) — conditions which McEnroe conceded might not have helped his mood.

Henman, coincidentally, was defaulted from a Grand Slam tournament when he and doubles partner Jeremy Bates were thrown out of Wimbledon in 1995 after Henman hit a ball that struck a ballgirl in the ear. Novak Djokovic also was defaulted from the fourth round of the 2020 U.S. Open after accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball.

Before the start of the professional Open era in 1968, Willie Alvarez, a Colombian-born Spanish player was disqualified from the 1963 French Championships (now French Open) during his second-round match against Martin Mulligan for arguing with the umpire.

But the McEnroe incident — against Penfors on Jan. 21, 1990, set the bar extraordinarily high.

The action by umpire Gerry Armstrong, with McEnroe leading Pernfors 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, 2-4, prompted booing among the crowd of 15,000 at center court. McEnroe, given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second set for intimidating a lineswoman, was hit with another violation for racket abuse after hitting a ball wide.

McEnroe then complained to Armstrong and requested Ken Farrar, the tournament supervisor. Farrar went onto the court and talked with McEnroe, but the American continued complaining and swearing.

Armstrong then announced: “Code violation, racket abuse, default, Mr. McEnroe. Game, set match.”

McEnroe stood with his hands on his hips while the crowd whistled and booed, many in a state of shock at what they were witnessing. The American left-hander packed up his rackets and left the court.

“This is like a long story,” McEnroe said in the wake of the match. “It culminates in me getting defaulted from a big tournament. It was bound to happen. It’s too bad.”

McEnroe, who has been back to Melbourne many times since then as a television commentator, explained that he was under the impression they were playing under an earlier version of the rules that had four steps to disqualification. Rules implemented on the new ATP Tour that year dropped the number of steps to three.

But Farrar had previously warned McEnroe about his behavior in other tournaments, mentioning in 1987 that the player was “lucky he didn’t get defaulted” on another occasion.

“I thought the rules were different,” McEnroe said on that historic day in Melbourne in 1990. “I have no one to blame but myself for not knowing.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE — Passa was in the stadium when McEnroe was defaulted in 1990, the first of more than 20 Australian Open tournaments he has covered.

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