PHA
New User
"Basically ignoring"? Carillo is the worst at talking while a point is being played, in addition to the fact that what she has to say is the tennis equivalent of chapter 1 of the Sound and the Fury.
Who is the WORST commentator??
- Thread starter Shaolin
- Start date
"Basically ignoring"? Carillo is the worst at talking while a point is being played, in addition to the fact that what she has to say is the tennis equivalent of chapter 1 of the Sound and the Fury.
Homeboy Hotel
Hall of Fame
Leif Shiras, the whole Sky team
sovertennis
Professional
When he intones about a player being "very linear" (enunciating every syllable so he sounds like he's speaking to morons--"lin-E-urr") I scramble for the remote so I can mute him.
Full disclosure: I have no idea what he's talking about with this "linear" stuff, and I'm pretty qualified. Of not, I suppose.
It would be EASY....
... Just shut the heck up and watch the tennis. Almost all the commentators rattle on and on and on about nothing to do with the match. Tennis is a fast action exciting sport - I really shouldn't have to tune out the commentators and their constant drivel - to enjoy it.
That said - some are better than others - and for the most part people here agree on the usual suspects.
PMChambers
Hall of Fame
Worst
Todd Woodbridge - Luckily they usually have him on the WTA matches which he can associate better with. He's tennis tactics is always trying to put the opposition off. It's really lame.
2nd Worst
John Newcombe - He's obsession with every player running to net on everything is so 70's it's a joke. It nearly gets to the point where he's tactic is "Hit a huge clean winner and run up to net in case".
3rd Some of the Russian commentators on the Torrents - I got no idea what they're saying which is fine, but they talk through the entire point. It's constant chatter like a radio broadcast from start to finish of the match. They need to be quiet between points so I can at least hear the ball being hit.
Todd Woodbridge - Luckily they usually have him on the WTA matches which he can associate better with. He's tennis tactics is always trying to put the opposition off. It's really lame.
2nd Worst
John Newcombe - He's obsession with every player running to net on everything is so 70's it's a joke. It nearly gets to the point where he's tactic is "Hit a huge clean winner and run up to net in case".
3rd Some of the Russian commentators on the Torrents - I got no idea what they're saying which is fine, but they talk through the entire point. It's constant chatter like a radio broadcast from start to finish of the match. They need to be quiet between points so I can at least hear the ball being hit.
heninfan99
Talk Tennis Guru
Fleming has eclipsed all. He has horrible insights that I have to endure because Mac played doubles with him.
Even worse than Gimelslob --Gimelslob will have the odd locker room story which gives him a slight edge over Fleming.
Even worse than Gimelslob --Gimelslob will have the odd locker room story which gives him a slight edge over Fleming.
Last edited:
Fxanimator1
Hall of Fame
It would be better to have a, "who's the best announcer".
...in which case I would say, Darren Cahill.
...in which case I would say, Darren Cahill.
Fred Stolle is a very good commentator. He's 75 years old, and maybe it's his age that has made him this way, but he is just brutally honest about the players. He talks openly about how lazy and unfit a player is if he thinks he's lazy or unfit. He doesn't sugar coat anything. Many of the others seem to worry about bumping into a player they've criticised in a hotel lobby, so they hold back. Fred just tells it how he sees it.
PMChambers
Hall of Fame
One of the technically best commentator as is his Mini Cahill, Hewitt. But he needs to be teamed up with a talker as he can go quiet for a long time. It's always good to hear him in the box, but I'd prefer him to be coaching a Top 10, he'd do great with a Tsonga with the ability but missing that little spark to make it to Top 4.
Paul Murphy
Hall of Fame
Henri Leconte when a Frenchman is playing
You said it.
100% agreed
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
I like them actually. Carillo easy for me. Dick Enberg too.
TimeSpiral
Professional
My favorite commentators:
Roby Koenig
Darren Cahill
Leif Shiras
These guys know their tennis, are tempered, amped at the right times, and are adequately relevant to the match they're calling.
My least favorite commentators:
Justin Gimelstob -- He has found a way to speak entirely in buzz words.
Maria Carillo -- Please. Just. Stop. I would say that she is by far the worst.
Essentially, anyone who is commentating a Serena Williams match instantly becomes the most annoying person in the world. I can hardly handle it: the oozing and gushing. It's constant and unbearable. It's similarly bad in a Big Four match, but not even close to the extent of a Serena match.
Commentators I'm generally okay with:
The McEnroe brothers
Gilbert
Some of the tennis channel guys, whose names escape me.
What virtually no commentary does effectively
Make the game interesting for people who don't play, or may be new to spectating tennis.
Roby Koenig
Darren Cahill
Leif Shiras
These guys know their tennis, are tempered, amped at the right times, and are adequately relevant to the match they're calling.
My least favorite commentators:
Justin Gimelstob -- He has found a way to speak entirely in buzz words.
Maria Carillo -- Please. Just. Stop. I would say that she is by far the worst.
Essentially, anyone who is commentating a Serena Williams match instantly becomes the most annoying person in the world. I can hardly handle it: the oozing and gushing. It's constant and unbearable. It's similarly bad in a Big Four match, but not even close to the extent of a Serena match.
Commentators I'm generally okay with:
The McEnroe brothers
Gilbert
Some of the tennis channel guys, whose names escape me.
What virtually no commentary does effectively
Make the game interesting for people who don't play, or may be new to spectating tennis.
bjsnider
Hall of Fame
That's what I think is so good about Jimmy Arias. Give the players hell if you think they deserve it. I can't stand the equivocation* I hear in so much TV commentary. For example -- "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea at this time". You just said nothing, so next time literally keep your mouth shut.
* To avoid committing oneself in what one says
TimeSpiral
Professional
I think a better choice here may have been "hedging." Equivocating in commentary--at least in my opinion--is more when someone falsely, or unnecessarily gives equal weight to each side of an argument, usually when one is a minority position.
Hedging usually sounds something like, "So, Bobby, is Rafa gonna take this set if he holds right here?"
"Good question, Rod. See, if we're talking about Rafa playing a good game, then yeah, you can expect a hold, but if we see Rafa tighten up, like he's prone to doing then he might not. So on one hand, there is no way he loses, but the serve is crucial. But, if he fails to following it up by dictating with his forehand, then, well, Fognini might have a chance."
"I think you really hit on something there, Bobby, especially about Fognini--"
You get the idea. Endless circles of nonsense. Maybe that's a good example, maybe it's a bad one--I don't know--but I'm sticking by it.
Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
Jimmy Arias is alright, but a lot of times the guy is completely out of control and becomes downright annoying. Like I was watching Wawrinka vs Ferrer at WTF 2013 and at one point he decides that Wawrinka has horrible tennis IQ and is pretty much a ballbasher who can't sense when to come in. Then, Stan wins like 3-4 points at the net in a row with smooth volleys. Funny thing is that when Stan hit the first 2 volley winners, Arias still wasn't happy and criticized Wawrinka for not moving to the net even quicker :-| and then when got proven wrong another 2 times in a row he tried to save face by joking "Oh, it looks like Stan has been hearing us in the booth".
He really needs to tone it down more often.
TJfederer16
Hall of Fame
i like the skysports team, especially mark petchey and barry cowan, peter fleming can say some disagreeable things but i find him pretty funny overall, leif shiras knows his stuff. The American commentators are the worst, first thing they need to do is know how to pronounce names properly.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
I agree with everything you said. Also, Americans like to make a "show" out of everything, I think it's in their mentality and that also applies to the commentators. They also think they know everything which is very annoying to listen to.
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
You mean Robbie Koenig, he's from South Africa. Tbh I love his style, maybe it's the accent, but it makes it seem like a hardcore fan is watching and admiring the players, something I can relate to well, his references to South Africa are also quite funny! (watch this: http://youtu.be/acjTGg4Nco4?t=1m27s)
that's the guy!
uggh i hate his voice when he screams. and his ugly face matches his squeaky voice perfectly.
it's not his accent. it's his voice when he's amazed.
i want to end my life when he screams no waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
SoCalJay
Semi-Pro
I actually really like Rob Koenig 99% of the time because he seems to know what he is talking about and stays pretty quiet throughout most matches. A lot of his commentary is spoken in a semi-whisper but I agree with you about the squeal when he gets excited. Despite the squeal, I still favor him over nearly everyone else.
Djokovic2011
Bionic Poster
If Robbie could hear you now he'd have only one thing to say to you- you've got to be kidding me!! :lol:
Timbo's hopeless slice
Hall of Fame
The answer is Bruce McAvaney
hahahah that's another one.
"no wayyyyyyyeeeeee. you've GOT to be kidding me, rogah."
The answer would be Bruce Mcavaney if Henri Leconte didn't commentate matches with French players at the Australian Open.
schenkelini
Semi-Pro
Justin Gimbleslob
Tennis_Bum
Professional
I just can't stand Motto-mouth Carillo. That person just can't stop utter nonsense while the points are in play. She and Johnny Mac are idiots when they get together to commentate a match. It's not enjoyable to watch a tennis in mute mode but the alternative is painful.
Why is Boris Becker not on the list? He sounds like an imbecile most of the time, with the most overly-obvious statements.
There's also a Brit (don't know his name) with a bit of a speech impediment - he has a slow, oddly-paced cadence (almost sounds like he speaks in haiku), who never completes a damn thought who I find really annoying because he takes so long to speak an idea that he seldom finishes a sentence.
Honestly, half of the criticisms in this thread seem to be altogether arbitrary. Most of the commentators people are finding so egregious do a fairly reasonable job most of the time and make some less-than brilliant comments on occasion, which simply goes with the job - it's not easy filling all that space with perfectly astute comments.
There's also a Brit (don't know his name) with a bit of a speech impediment - he has a slow, oddly-paced cadence (almost sounds like he speaks in haiku), who never completes a damn thought who I find really annoying because he takes so long to speak an idea that he seldom finishes a sentence.
Honestly, half of the criticisms in this thread seem to be altogether arbitrary. Most of the commentators people are finding so egregious do a fairly reasonable job most of the time and make some less-than brilliant comments on occasion, which simply goes with the job - it's not easy filling all that space with perfectly astute comments.
Last edited:
ollinger
G.O.A.T.
Devilito
sometimes they're NOT paying attention to what they say. The director may be saying something to you in your headphone about switching the viewer over to another court, something you said a moment ago, etc. Not as easy a job as people think, CurrenFan had it right that you won't always be spot-on and people will nail you for the one moment when you were off the mark.
sometimes they're NOT paying attention to what they say. The director may be saying something to you in your headphone about switching the viewer over to another court, something you said a moment ago, etc. Not as easy a job as people think, CurrenFan had it right that you won't always be spot-on and people will nail you for the one moment when you were off the mark.
Fed 1 Nad 2 Djo 3 Mur 4
New User
The worst commentator Al Trautwig
I was watching the US Open on Fox Sports in Australia and both commentators were horrible. Luke Jensen, full of luke-warm tennis observations and mainly focused on the improved catering available, namely the steak sandwich. Although low-IQ, Luke is a genius compared to his neanderthal lurch counterpart. This brainless rag was repeating over and over his analogy that Federer is just like James Bond. He blurted this analogy for 3 days straight, usually at a time when Fed put an overhead into the bottom of the net or pushed a volley beyond the tram lines. This tool made atrocious comments all during match play, not understanding anything about the game of tennis, but more suited to someone who drown's garbage bags for a living. I was so appalled by his moronic comments that I had to search for his name, so I could vote him the Worst tennis commentator of all time. He has a typical tv fishing or shopping voice, one that reads cue cards letter by letter, without connecting vowels or words, but pausing only when enough druel gathers in his mouth. His name is Al Trautwig. Weird Al Trautwig. His name is not associated with Tennis on the entire Internet. But none the less, ESPN took him from Hockey & Baseball, and shoved him into the booth at Flushing Meadows and locked the doors to keep the stench in. You know this guy does not brush his teeth and when he talks, it all just pours out. It's brown and liquid. It's Al Trautwig.
I was watching the US Open on Fox Sports in Australia and both commentators were horrible. Luke Jensen, full of luke-warm tennis observations and mainly focused on the improved catering available, namely the steak sandwich. Although low-IQ, Luke is a genius compared to his neanderthal lurch counterpart. This brainless rag was repeating over and over his analogy that Federer is just like James Bond. He blurted this analogy for 3 days straight, usually at a time when Fed put an overhead into the bottom of the net or pushed a volley beyond the tram lines. This tool made atrocious comments all during match play, not understanding anything about the game of tennis, but more suited to someone who drown's garbage bags for a living. I was so appalled by his moronic comments that I had to search for his name, so I could vote him the Worst tennis commentator of all time. He has a typical tv fishing or shopping voice, one that reads cue cards letter by letter, without connecting vowels or words, but pausing only when enough druel gathers in his mouth. His name is Al Trautwig. Weird Al Trautwig. His name is not associated with Tennis on the entire Internet. But none the less, ESPN took him from Hockey & Baseball, and shoved him into the booth at Flushing Meadows and locked the doors to keep the stench in. You know this guy does not brush his teeth and when he talks, it all just pours out. It's brown and liquid. It's Al Trautwig.
Chico
Banned
You are 7 years late with your nickname. Djokovic is #1 now. Sorry.
DRII
G.O.A.T.
beautiful post!
i agree about Becker, and sorry but the German accent is so hideous when speaking English that its a deal breaker.
Gimelstob is still awful, but i think Jim Courier is improving...
beast of mallorca
G.O.A.T.
Still, NOBODY beats Chris "awful" Evert as the worst tennis commentator. Just sayin'.
generous50
Rookie
Maybe Pam Shriver IMO.
Bhagi Katbamna
Legend
Al Trautwig is extremely irritating. Put him and Luke Jensen together and instead of the annoyance factor doubling, it is raised exponentially.
tennis tom
Legend
NEWS FLASH! : Brett Haber can read!
Shaolin
G.O.A.T.
Yep she's still the worst. Her and Arias.
tennis tom
Legend
What do Pamsy and Jimmy say that you don't like for example?
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Future Zverev
bitcoinoperated
Professional
Inverdale
Shaolin
G.O.A.T.
Shriver: Too many things to mention. I think the James Blake incident sums her up perfectly.
Arias: Extremely whiny, sniveling voice and never has a kind word to say about anyone. Anytime he says something remotely positive he will immediately criticize them for something. Seems extremely insecure. He's been that way forever.
Similar threads
- Poll