John McEnroe, in full John Patrick McEnroe, Jr., (born February 16, 1959, Wiesbaden, West Germany [now in Germany]), American tennis player who established himself as a leading competitor in the late 1970s and the ’80s. He also was noted for his poor behaviour on court, which resulted in a number of fines and suspensions and, on January 21, 1990, in his default at the Australian Open. McEnroe grew up in Douglaston, New York, and received tennis training at the Port Washington Tennis Academy nearby. He first attracted international attention as an amateur in 1977, when at the age of 18