Tennis Fans Defend Carlos Alcaraz From ‘Embarrassing’ BBC Broadcaster’s Unexpected Rant at Queen’s Club Championships

Carlos Alcaraz’s Queen’s Club Championships defeat has been indeed disappointing for tennis fans worldwide. With a score of 6-7, 3-6, Jack Draper emerged victorious over the 21 -year-old player. However, when it comes to defending the French Open champion, fans know how to do it with grace. A glimpse of that occurred when the BBC commentator, Andrew Castle, once again tried to dissect the Spaniard’s name and, in return, faced an intense backlash from the tennis world!

The former tennis player turned broadcaster Andrew Castle has infamously earned a reputation for his strange remarks during his commentary in matches. The latest victim of this became the three-time Grand Slam champion, Carlos Alcaraz. A Reddit user posted a video on 21st June showcasing the time when Alcaraz was taking a break during his match against Jack Draper in the round of 16 match. 

Andrew Castle had previously noticed how Alcaraz went up to the Chair Umpire, talking to him about some problem. Castle thought it was about him correcting his name’s pronunciation, which many have criticized him for because it doesn’t come across as a native Spanish accent. Interestingly, different people from different regions pronounce the Spaniard’s name distinctly.

While some (especially Spanish people) may call him “AlcarATH,” others refer to him as “Al-ka-raz“. The debate is endless, but the British commentator has a different view. “Is he talking about how he wants his name said? Look if you go on a pronunciation, by the way, if anybody is getting a wound out if we are saying Alkaraz or Alcarath or whatever. His name is Alcaraz.”

Further adding, he declared, “If you go on the pronunciation of the ATP tour website, it’s Alcaraz. But everyone gets annoyed saying it…All day long we can worry about this kind of thing.” This is not the first time that Andrew Castle’s perspective on Carlos Alcaraz’s name pronunciation made it to the headlines in tennis. Last year, a similar incident occurred at Wimbledon as well.

As the U.S. Open champion battled to earn his first Wimbledon title, Andrew Castle was more worried about the correct pronunciation of ‘Alcaraz.’ This year, it again feels like déjà vu, as many Reddit users once again lashed out at Castle for a similar reason.

Fans react to Castles’ commentary on Carlos Alcaraz’s name pronunciation

As the video surfaced on Reddit, one fan sarcastically wrote, “I’d rather call him Andurill Pentaphoshate since he’s just a random guy with a random name.” Contrastingly, last year, the scenario was different. This is because Castle insisted on saying it in the Spanish way, ‘Al-ka-rath’ rather than ‘Al-ka-raz.’ Naturally, viewers, disturbed at this, asked for a “mute button” to put an end to his commentary in the match.

However, according to this fan, “I think I have heard like 10 different versions of her name being used at this point lol. I’m pretty sure no one knows how to actually say it.” As the fan pointed out, many players and tennis experts call him “Al-ka-raz” whereas some even call him ‘Al-ca-raz,’ like the pronunciation of ‘ca’ in calligraphy. Apart from that, many U.S. commentators also call him Al-cah-rez as well. 

One fan also referred to another similar problem with the name of the WTA player, Qinwen Zheng. Referring to that, the user wrote, “I’ve only heard the Q pronounced like a hard ‘K’, though it is properly pronounced as a ‘CH’ or ‘SH’. So it woud be CHIN-WEN. Oddly, I checked the WTA website and she’s apparently completely “anglicized” her name, perhaps to make it easier. Not only does she use the hard K but her last name sounds very westernized.”

Although some call her as “Quin-when jayng,” according to others it is “ChinWen Djeng.” Similarly, many commentators tennis players, and experts alike have faced the same difficulty in pronouncing her Chinese name as well.

Another fan wrote, “That’s so embarrassing to go on that idiotic rant when that wasn’t even what Carlos was complaining about. I feel secondhand embarrassment.” As he pointed out, Alcaraz was not complaining about the wrong pronunciation of his name. Rather, he spoke to the umpire about the new shot clock rule. Frustrated due to a short interval after a point, he later on said, “It’s crazy. I have time just to ask for two balls and no bounces. I’ve never seen something like that in tennis.”

Another fan simply added, “The other day I saw a post on here complaining about Andrew Castle. As an American, I thoroughly appreciate you sharing your struggles. I now wholeheartedly hate this announcer too.” In 2016, Castle even apologized for his comments on Marcus Willis’ girlfriend, “It’s a pity my dentist doesn’t look like that.” However, his comments have ever since raised eyebrows in the tennis world.

Carlos Alcaraz’s name’s correct pronunciation still remains a mystery to many. However, they have made sure that it will never come in the way of supporting him throughout his good and bad times in tennis!