Portrait of John McEnroe

Birthday profile

John McEnroe

John McEnroe, American tennis player and sportscaster

Born
February 16, 1959
Age in 2026
67
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1959

About John McEnroe

John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. Often ranked amongst the greatest tennis players of all time, McEnroe was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 170 weeks. He has held this ranking a record 14 times. He also held the world No. 1 title in men's doubles for 269 weeks (third-most of all time). He is one of two male players (alongside Stefan Edberg) to have held both No. 1 rankings, and the only one to hold both simultaneously. McEnroe was best known during his playing career for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court behavior, which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities. McEnroe won an Open Era record 155 career titles: 77 in singles, 77 in doubles and 1 in mixed doubles. This includes seven singles majors (four at the US Open and three at Wimbledon), nine men's doubles majors, and one mixed doubles major. McEnroe is the only male player to win more than 70 titles in both singles and doubles. His singles match record of 82–3 in 1984 remains the best single-season win rate of the Open Era. McEnroe also excelled at the year-end tournaments, winning eight singles and seven doubles titles, both of which are records. Three of his winning singles year-end championships were at the Masters Grand Prix (the ATP year-end event) and five were at the World Championship Tennis (WCT) Finals, an event that ended in 1989. He was named the ATP Player of the Year and the ITF World Champion three times each: in 1981, 1983 and 1984. McEnroe contributed to five Davis Cup titles for the U.S. and later was team captain. He has stayed active in retirement, often competing in senior events on the ATP Champions Tour, where he has won 25 titles. He also works as a television commentator during the majors and has had cameo roles and served as a narrator in various comedy television series. He won both the Junior singles and mixed doubles titles at the French Open, partnering with Mary Carillo in the latter. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 170 weeks, and as world No. 1 in men's doubles for 269 weeks.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when John McEnroe was born

John McEnroe was born in 1959. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1959

  • #1 song"Mack the Knife" – Bobby Darin
  • Top movieBen-Hur
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookGoldfinger – Ian Fleming

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentIngemar Johansson knocks out Floyd Patterson for heavyweight title
  • Top headlineAlaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th US states
  • Technology milestoneMicrochip (integrated circuit) invented
  • Defining fadBarbie dolls
  • Notable inventionBarbie doll
  • World population2.98 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championLos Angeles Dodgers (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population177.1M

1959 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in John McEnroe's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19592026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,400$435,000
Average income$7,000$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population177.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, ATP Tour. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.