Commentator Andrew Castle jokingly told Eugenie Bouchard she had been “sacked” during the BBC’s live Wimbledon broadcast on Saturday night. Bouchard gave an analysis of the fight between Grigor Dimitrov and Metteo Berrettini in the third round on center court.
A former professional tennis player has signed a contract with the BBC, becoming the first to work on the 2026 championships. And she was criticized for not being able to speak Italian after Berrettini ranted at his box late in the second set.
During the change of ends, Castle asked Bouchard, “You speak Italian.” And the 2014 women’s singles finalist replied: “No, but I see a lot of interaction going on between Berrettini and his box, which is right behind me.
“Sorry guys, I can only help you in English and French.”
Castle replied, “I don’t know, we’re looking for Gene, the Italian.” And Bouchard teased: “So, am I fired?”
There was laughter from both sides of the court as Castle said, “That’s it, thanks for coming, you’re fired.”
And Bouchard concluded: “It was a good race, thanks for inviting me anyway. I’ll just get to the end.”
Castle was about to end the call with “goodbye, enjoy your dinner” when Henman stepped in to offer Bouchard some support, saying, “Don’t do that.”
Dimitrov is the clear favorite for SW19 after winning everyone’s hearts at last year’s tournament. The Bulgarian suffered a severe chest injury when facing eventual winner Jannik Sinner in two games in the fourth round and had to retire. But this year he doesn’t allow himself to think about it.
Dimitrov said: “I think when I say throughout my career I have suffered from minor injuries, major injuries, what happened last year and all that, why am I here if I don’t put everything on the line again?
“If I don’t have that, then there’s no point in me competing on the biggest stage of our sport, here at Wimbledon.
“Again, anything can happen. I might get hurt again. You may slip. You may have a day off. These things are just as important, they are. But you have to, like, push yourself mentally to stay as fresh as possible, stay as aware as possible, and really dig and ask yourself what you really want and how you want to do your business.”