In our series , self-motivated people tell WSJ. how they start off the week.

John McEnroe is the first to admit he’s not always the greatest at keeping his cool, but the former No. 1-ranked tennis player says he’s a lot better than he used to be. McEnroe, 62, is as well known for his Grand Slam titles (seven singles, nine men’s doubles, one mixed doubles) as for his temper on the court. In 1981, he famously screamed, “You cannot be serious!” at an umpire during his Wimbledon championship match against Tom Gullikson. In 2002,...

In our series My Monday Morning, self-motivated people tell WSJ. how they start off the week.

John McEnroe is the first to admit he’s not always the greatest at keeping his cool, but the former No. 1-ranked tennis player says he’s a lot better than he used to be. McEnroe, 62, is as well known for his Grand Slam titles (seven singles, nine men’s doubles, one mixed doubles) as for his temper on the court. In 1981, he famously screamed, “You cannot be serious!” at an umpire during his Wimbledon championship match against Tom Gullikson. In 2002, he made the catchphrase the title of his autobiography. 

These days, McEnroe likes to tap into the artistic side of his brain to de-stress. “The number-one thing, I love to play music, play guitar,” he says, adding that the pandemic gave him more time than usual to practice. “At least I’m improving at something, whereas in tennis I’m getting worse every year.” He also loves collecting visual art and owns an art gallery in SoHo. “The art and music is the part of the brain I didn’t use as much as a kid growing up. It’s something that steadied me over the years and helped me appreciate life more.” 

McEnroe also runs the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, on Randall’s Island in New York City, which trains all ages and levels, and is a tennis commentator as well as budding voice-over actor. He’s the narrator of Mindy Kaling’s Netflix show Never Have I Ever, telling the story and teenage struggles of high schooler Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). Here, McEnroe speaks to WSJ. about exercising six days a week and his dream voice-over job.

What time do you get up on Mondays, and what’s the first thing you do after waking up?

Well, it depends on the situation. Normally I’m up between 7 and 8 a.m. The first thing I do is go downstairs, walk outside my door, grab the New York Times. I’ve got a big glass of water and have two, three glasses of water while I enjoy the Times, followed by some fruit. I probably spend half an hour, 45 minutes perusing the news and go through the ritual of water, then fruit and then eventually hit a cup of coffee. By that time, I’m ready to start the day. 

Is fruit your main breakfast?

I eat a lot, but I’m not a big morning-food guy. So I love fruit. I like to do that and then wait a little bit because you don’t want to mix it too quickly with coffee. After that it depends on what I feel or need, maybe a bagel of some kind. Sometimes I like a half a bagel—good old New York bagel, scrambled eggs, a little bit of cheese in there. I’m not training for Wimbledon and the U.S. Open anymore. If I’m not practicing or doing something athletic, then I’d go lighter until I had lunch. 

Do you take any vitamins?

I believe in getting the vitamins through the food you eat. 

What’s your exercise routine like?

I try to do it pretty regularly. I’m not getting any younger. I’ve been struggling a little bit, the last year or two, with my hip and lower back. Generally I would like to get a workout of some kind six days a week. It usually was three days when I did mainly tennis, stretch, that type of stuff, and then three days a week of off-court stuff, whether it be a stationary bike, mountain bike, some type of weights and core work. I don’t have a 9-to-5 job so I’m able to do it when it’s appropriate based on what I have. Like today, I’m going to go out on the court after I talk to you. I mean, I don’t play as much or as hard or as often or as good, but I love to still go out there. I’m at my tennis academy now. If I play with one of the pros here, I’ve got 37 pros, so I’ve got a lot to choose from. I have my hands full with some of the kids who come here. We also have a great gym here. I have pretty much all I need here at Randall’s Island. 

John McEnroe Wins 1981 Wimbledon Championships- American tennis player John McEnroe holds up the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy after defeating Bjorn Borg of Sweden, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the final of the Men’s Singles tournament to become champion at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London on 4th July 1981.

Photo: Bob Thomas Sports Photography via Getty Images

Are you on the lookout for anything for your art collection right now?

I’m always on the lookout; I have all different kinds of tastes. Art’s gotten trickier; it’s exploded for some people financially, artists included. And I don’t want it to be all about the business of it—of course, I don’t want to lose money—but it sometimes feels like too much about the business. Maybe that’s true in tennis, too. 

I grew up and I thought photorealism was the greatest thing and impressionists, Monet and Renoir and Van Gogh, were amazing. I lean more towards contemporary artists now. I just find it more interesting to be around living artists and hear them talk about their own art, even if historically it might not pan out the way it did for Picasso or Henri Matisse. It’s tough. I relate to artists quite a bit because they’re out there on their own island the way tennis players are, and it’s not easy.

What do you make of tennis style being so ubiquitous right now? 

Well, they’ve been doing that for a long time. I always find it humorous that people who come to tennis matches all wear tennis outfits. It’s like people who go on bicycle rides. They think they’re in the Tour de France or something. I don’t understand it, but I’m sure the sponsors are happy. Back in my day when I first started, the clothing that people wore was outstanding. They made some great clothes; it was all made in Italy and it was top-notch. And then it became more mass-produced, and people changed. You had to wear a collar for decades on the tennis court. Now you can wear a T-shirt. I think it’s nice when people try to make statements. Some don’t work, others do. Because tennis players, again, are out there on their own—there’s an opportunity to really make a statement. You’re not looking at football where there’s 22 people on the field at one time. 

Now that you’re a voice-over actor, do you have a dream voice-over job?

Toy Story 5. I mean, I suppose—listen, I was fortunate that I got this opportunity to do Never Have I Ever. It was sort of a total long shot coincidence that I ran into Mindy Kaling at a Vanity Fair Oscars event. I wasn’t even sure who it was—my wife was like, “That’s Mindy Kaling!” My wife introduced herself and that’s when Mindy was like, “I have this idea for you to be the narrator on my new series on Netflix.” I was like, “Yeah, right,” basically. You hear these things a lot in Hollywood or whatever—these possibilities where 95 percent of the time nothing happens. If it did, I was sort of thinking it would be more like my cameos. I didn’t realize I was part of the show, [playing] an Indian-American girl’s alter-ego.

After the second season, there was this idea from Squarespace to do a mockumentary [about me as a voice-over actor]—have some fun with the whole narration thing. I don’t know exactly what it will lead to, but it’s sort of potentially opened doors. You hit the big 6-0, like I did a few years ago, you rely on your  body for a long time. It’s quite a bit tougher to do that now. Over the years, decades, people have said to me, “I recognize your voice. It’s very distinctive.”

What are you reading and watching?

Hmm, let me see. I’m not reading. That’s probably been my No. 1 disappointment during this pandemic or in general—I haven’t been reading that many books at all. That’s been a semi-bummer from my point of view. 

[I’ve been watching] Ted Lasso; I’m one of those suckers for positive stories.

What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that’s guided you? 

One of the best that I learned early was that it’s better to try and fail than to not try at all. I think it takes courage to just go out there and do your best, especially when you’ve given your best and it’s not good enough. It’s a pretty terrible feeling. But you have to be able to take satisfaction in the process and hope it will help you later on, whether it’s in your job or at your job. 

There was a point where it became more difficult for me because I’d had a lot of success, to accept being second best or sixth best. And I wasn’t able to channel that properly. I was 27 when my first child was born. My priorities changed. I always admire the athletes and other entertainers who balance that in a way where they’re good husbands and fathers as well as great at what they’re doing. That’s long been my goal. Finding that balance to me is the key thing. I think it was helped by my parents. My mom always wanted me to be a doctor or lawyer. My dad was pushing more towards, “Hey, you could potentially do this, be great at tennis.” So I felt like maybe the best piece of advice I ever gave him at 12 was when I said, “Hey, you’ve got to back off because I’m feeling too much pressure. Why don’t you wait until I’m 18?” That’s when it’s decided whether you get a tennis scholarship and potentially play Davis Cup, which is when you play for your country. 

We’re hearing more and more about mental health from Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka. This pandemic, this unheard-of event, once in 100 years…and we just went through the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This stuff can be overwhelming in addition to just trying to live the best you can. The fact that we’re discussing mental health more is key. I think I hid behind my own at times, where I’d express anger as opposed to vulnerability, because guys growing up weren’t supposed to cry. That’s changing, which is healthy, but it’s a process. I’m here at my tennis academy, nurturing and helping the kids through times where it can be overwhelming. Keeping that perspective is the key thing. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.