John McEnroe rocks out on stage with daughter Emily, covers wife Patty Smyth & Alanis Morissette's songs
John McEnroe took to the stage with his daughter Emily. While the former ATP No. 1 and seven-time singles Major winner put his guitar-playing prowess on display, his daughter showcased her singing skills. The father-daughter duo's set included a cover of a song by McEnroe's wife and Emily's stepmother, Patty Smyth, and one of an Alanis Morissette tune.
On Monday, April 15, Emily, McEnroe's daughter with first wife Tatum O' Neal, shared an Instagram Story. The post featured a brief video of her, McEnroe and the rest of the band covering the song "Hands Tied" at a recent San Diego event.
McEnroe's second wife and Emily's stepmother Patty Smyth originally wrote, recorded and released the song with the rock band Scandal in 1984.
John McEnroe's daughter Emily shared an Instagram reel as well, which featured the band performing a cover of the song "Hand in My Pocket" from Canadian music icon Alanis Morissette's 1995 album, 'Jagged Little Pill.' The song is regarded as one of Morissette's greatest hits. It reached number one on both American and Canadian charts and was critically acclaimed as well, particularly for Morissette's songwriting.
McEnroe and Emily's performance was part of the proceedings at the ASU+GSV Summit, which took place in San Diego from April 6 to 9. The annual summit revolves around innovations in the delivery of workforce skills and education.
Last year, McEnroe spoke up about how his second wife, Smyth, rejuvenated his tennis career.
John McEnroe recalled second wife Patty Smyth's role in turning his career around
In late 2024, John McEnroe was featured as a guest on the 'Served' podcast, which is hosted by fellow former No. 1 and 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick. During his conversation with Roddick, McEnroe remembered the motivation that his second wife Patty Smyth gave him when his career was on a downward spiral.
The legendary American's singles career had already come to an end when he met Smyth for the first time in 1993. However, his doubles career continued. He famously played mixed doubles with Steffi Graf at the 1999 Wimbledon Championships and reached the semifinals. However, they withdrew from the semis as Graf had reached the women's singles final, and the German wanted to prioritize singles.
"I got lucky that I got a second chance with Patty, my second wife. She was like 'If you're going to do this, you need to do this right.' I was playing some events and I was not in great shape and I was losing because of that. She was like, 'You gotta get in shape and you gotta do this.' In essence, go back to your roots," McEnroe said.
McEnroe and his first wife, O'Neal, separated in 1994 and later divorced. In 1997, the tennis legend married Smyth, and the happily married couple are parents to two daughters.