The latest US Open 2024 news: Tennis Fans Roar at ESPN as Chris Evert’s Commentary on Gauff and Navarro Sparks Outrage.

The latest US Open 2024 news: Tennis Fans Roar at ESPN as Chris Evert’s Commentary on Gauff and Navarro Sparks Outrage

US Open 2024: Tennis Fans Roar at ESPN as Chris Evert’s Commentary on Gauff and Navarro Sparks Outrage.

The ongoing US Open has been full of surprises, and not just on the court! This year, the commentators are sharing the spotlight as well, but not always for the best reasons.

Amidst the fierce competition and thrilling matches, some of the commentary has sparked its own set of controversies. Chris Evert, a legend in her own right, has found herself at the center of the latest uproar. And it’s only gotten worse with every match.

It started with Naomi Osaka’s first-round match against Jelena Ostapenko. Since she came back after giving birth, Osaka has been experimenting a lot more with her outfits, and as she returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 26-year-old made a statement: she walked in wearing a green Nike cut-off jacket with a layered tulle skirt.

But what caught everyone’s attention was the numerous bows she sported, right from the ones on her headphones and shoes, to the giant one on her waist. Looking at Osaka’s outfit, Chris Evert said, “I like the dress…it suits her, it suits the Japanese culture.”

While the 69-year-old may have just been praising Osaka’s fashion sense, many in the tennis community didn’t take too well to it and accused Evert of being insensitive toward the Japanese culture. That said, the latest installment of tennis fans disapproving of Evert’s commentary came during the fourth-round encounter between Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro.

In what was a rematch of their Round of 16 encounter at Wimbledon – where Navarro won in straight sets – everyone was expecting another thrilling encounter between the American compatriots.

And the high-stakes match was living up to its expectations. However, Chris Evert wasn’t, and that seemed to have agitated everyone, owing to the former player’s continuous commentary.

Taking to X, several fans expressed their anger and requested Evert to cut down on her commentary during the match. In his autobiography, But Seriously, John McEnroe highlighted how Wimbledon has a rule against commentating during a point.

While other Grand Slams and tournaments don’t have such strict restrictions, commentators usually follow this unwritten rule every time. And viewers have gotten used to it. So, when the former World No. 1 spoke multiple times during points, many didn’t take it too well.

They even tagged ESPN, hoping that the broadcaster would do something about it. After all, this wasn’t the first time Chris Evert’s commentary has come into question, especially in regards to Coco Gauff’s matches.

Let’s take her third-round match against Elina Svitolina, for instance. The Ukrainian started the match with the upper hand, proving to be the better played of the two. But despite her dominance in the first set, which she won 6-3, Evert constantly praised Gauff and didn’t say much about Svitolina.