McEnroe Claims Top Junior Boy Would Beat Sabalenka

Former professional tennis player Patrick McEnroe sparked fresh debate on gender differences in the sport during a recent episode of his SiriusXM radio show, "Holding Court," when he suggested that the world's top junior male player could easily defeat women's World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

The 59-year-old McEnroe, who reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 28 and won a French Open doubles title in 1989, fielded a call from a listener asking if he could beat Sabalenka in a match, assuming he was in peak physical condition for his age. McEnroe sidestepped a direct response, instead drawing a comparison to basketball. "What would happen if the best 15-year-old boys played against the top WNBA team?" he asked the caller, who replied that the boys would win easily. McEnroe agreed and extended the analogy to tennis, stating that a top 17-year-old junior boy would overpower Sabalenka. "They beat her 6-1, 6-1 or something," he said. He described himself as a "journeyman-type player" ranked between 30 and 100 for much of his career but stressed the matchup's irrelevance. "It's just a totally different game," McEnroe added. "I don't say that to denigrate women's tennis. I love...