"Jimmy Connors is the person I hear the worst about...very arrogant, had no friends" - Tennis insider
A renowned tennis insider recently opened up about Jimmy Connors in light of the legendary American's sensational take on World No. 1 Jannik Sinner being potentially banned from the ATP Tour. The insider opined that over the years, he has heard several negative things about the 72-year-old. However, he also suggested that Connors sometimes comes up with "interesting" takes on prevalent issues in the tennis world.
Jannik Sinner, the World No. 1 and reigning Australian Open and US Open champion, finds himself with a cloud of uncertaintly looming over his head. This stems from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealing his doping case, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) set to hear WADA's appeal, possibly early next year.
The entire controversy is rooted in Jannik Sinner twice testing positive for the banned performance-enhancing substance Clostebol earlier this season. Initially, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had cleared the Italian to continue playing as an independent investigative panel found that Sinner himself was not at fault for the exposure to the substance. However, WADA's interference has complicated matters.
Recently, Jimmy Connors, a former World No. 1 and eight-time Grand Slam champion, sensationally suggested that men's tennis at the elite level would be adversely affected if Sinner is eventually suspended.
"Listen, all I know is that I don’t think tennis at that level could survive that to hit a top player. Listen, all I know is that I don’t think tennis at that level could survive that to hit a top player," Connors said on the Advantage Connors podcast.
Guido Monaco, a prominent tennis insider, without specifically referring to Jimmy Connors' take, shared that he has heard a lot of negatives about the American over the years.
"Connors? He's the person I hear the worst about in the world of tennis, very arrogant, he had no friends on the circuit, he was willing to do anything to win. It doesn't take away the fact that he could or can say interesting things, but this time I have to understand the meaning," Monaco told OA Sport.
The legendary Pete Sampras, who was one of the most dominant forces of men's tennis in the 1990s, had briefly written about Connors' personality in his 2008 autobiography, 'A Champion's Mind'.
"Jimmy Connors wanted his peers to stay in awe" - Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras wrote in his autobiography, 'A Champion's Mind about how Jimmy Connors always maintained a "loner"-like personality during his playing days.
"I can totally understand why Jimmy Connors was always such a loner —so standoffish and aloof. He wanted his peers—all of them—to stay in awe," Sampras wrote.
Jimmy Connors still holds the record for most match wins in the Open Era as well as the most number of singles titles by a male player. The American had an immensely successful career, during which, he won eight Grand Slam titles, five of which came at the US Open. He won Wimbledon twice while winning the Australian Open in 1974.
Connors also became the third player to become the World No. 1 since the inception of the ATP rankings.