John Lloyd

John Lloyd was born on August 27, 1954, in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England. He developed into a professional tennis player, achieving an ATP world ranking of 23 in July 1978. Lloyd was ranked as the UK’s number one male player in both 1984 and 1985. A significant achievement in his singles career was reaching the final of the 1977 Australian Open, becoming the first British male player in the Open era to do so, where he was defeated by Vitas Gerulaitis. He also reached the US Open quarter-finals in 1984, a feat not achieved by a British player since 1966.

Throughout his career, Lloyd was a prominent figure in British tennis. He won one singles title at Merion in 1974. He also secured three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles alongside Wendy Turnbull, winning the French Open in 1982 and Wimbledon in 1983 and 1984. Lloyd represented Great Britain in the Davis Cup for 11 years, contributing to the team that reached the final in 1978. After retiring from professional play, he transitioned to coaching, notably working with Bjorn Borg and Tracy Austin briefly in the early 1990s. He later served as the captain of Great Britain’s Davis Cup team from 2006 to 2010.

Following his playing and coaching career, Lloyd established himself as a media personality. He began his television commentary career at HBO in 1993, after the passing of Arthur Ashe. He is currently a BBC television commentator at Grand Slams, including Wimbledon, and also worked for Sky Sports at the US Open in 2009. His commentaries are recognized for their analogies related to food and drink to describe tennis shots, for instance, a weak shot might be described as “undercooked” or “needed more mustard.” Lloyd’s personal life included a high-profile marriage to former women’s World No. 1 Chris Evert from 1979 to 1987. He currently resides in Palm Beach, Florida, with his girlfriend.