| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Naples, Florida New York City |
| Born | (1957-03-15)March 15, 1957 (age 68)[1] New York, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] |
| Turned pro | 1977[3] |
| Retired | 1980 |
| Plays | Left-handed |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 33 (January 1980)[4] |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| French Open | 2R (1977) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1979) |
| US Open | 1R (1977, 1979) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| US Open | QF (1977) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1977) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1977) |
Mary Carillo (born March 15, 1957[1]) is an American sportscaster and former professionaltennis player. She is an analyst forTennis on NBC and a reporter forNBC Olympic broadcasts.
Carillo played on the women's professional tennis circuit from 1977 to 1980. Her highest world rank was No. 33 in theWomen's Tennis Association Rankings from January through March 1980. She then retired, citing knee injuries.[5]
Carillo never won a major singles title, but did win the1977 French Openmixed-doubles title withJohn McEnroe. Carillo and McEnroe made it to the quarterfinals atWimbledon before being defeated, and later that year Carillo was a women's doubles quarterfinalist at theUS Open.
Carillo began her television career working forUSA Network from 1980 to 1987,PBS from 1981 to 1986 andMSG from 1981 to 1988. She then worked forESPN from 1988 to 1997 and again from 2003 to 2010. She also worked onUS Open coverage forCBS Sports from 1986 to 2014. In addition, Carillo worked as both a host and analyst onHBO'sWimbledon coverage from 1996 to 1999, and onTurner Sports' Wimbledon coverage from 2000 to 2002. In May 2003, Carillo joinedNBC Sports as an analyst on itsFrench Open and Wimbledon coverage, having made her debut as an analyst on NBC for the 1996Family Circle Cup tennis event. She also does commentary onThe Tennis Channel and appears regularly onThe Tennis Podcast, hosted on Acast.
Carillo's candid and insightful commentary has earned her accolades throughout the industry, including the distinction of being called "the sport's top analyst" bySports Illustrated.[6] She is known for her deep voice, quick wit and pointed sense of humor. Like her longtime friend and fellowDouglaston, Queens, New York City nativeJohn McEnroe, Carillo is known for her colorful turns of phrase, and is credited with coining "Big Babe Tennis" to describe the era in women's tennis dominated by large, powerful players such asLindsay Davenport,Serena Williams andVenus Williams.[7][8] Carillo's unabashed and opinionated style of commentary has drawn criticism from several top players, includingAndre Agassi,Serena andVenus Williams, andMaria Sharapova.[9] Nevertheless, she was named Best Commentator byTennis Magazine (1988–91), Best Commentator byWorld Tennis magazine (1986) and Broadcaster of the Year by theWomen's Tennis Association (1981 and 1985).
As a result of theATP's handling of domestic abuse allegations againstAlexander Zverev, Carillo stepped down from her presenting role at the2021 Laver Cup, in which Zverev played, saying she wanted no part in the "whitewashing of very serious allegations".[10][11][12]
Carillo served as Olympic tennis analyst at both theAtlanta andSydney Summer Olympics and as theskiing reporter for CBS's coverage at theAlbertville,Lillehammer andNagano Winter Olympics.[6]
During NBC's coverage of the2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics she coveredbobsled,luge andskeleton competitions. Her comment that men's doubles luge is "like a bar bet gone bad" was recognized as "line of the year" in many sports television columns.[which?] In addition, Carillo's work co-hosting the 2002 Closing Ceremony alongsideDan Hicks earned her critical acclaim.[citation needed]
At the2004 Athens Games, Carillo earned critical praise in her debut as a full-time Olympic host onBravo's coverage in addition to anchoringUSA Network's live, Grand Slam-style coverage of the tennis gold medal finals. She delivered a lengthy, well-received commentary on badminton during this coverage.[13]
At the2006 Winter Games inTurin, Carillo hostedOlympic Ice, a dailyfigure skating show on theUSA Network. She co-hosted the daily figure-skating television program withScott Hamilton,Dick Button, andJamie Salé andDavid Pelletier.
Carillo served as late-night show host, closing ceremony host, and "Friend ofBob" for the2008 Beijing Games, her ninthOlympic assignment and sixth with NBC. Her role focused on cultural commentary and "slice of life" pieces about China.[14] She repeated these duties—late-night host and human-interest reporter—for NBC's coverage of the2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the2012 Summer Olympics in London, and the2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She was also one of the torch bearers during the torch's tour through Canada.
Since 1997, Carillo has been a correspondent onHBO'sReal Sports with Bryant Gumbel, winning aSports Emmy Award for herReal Sports feature on theHoyt Family.
In 2009, 2013, and 2016, she co-hosted the 133rd, 137th and 140thWestminster Kennel Club Dog Show broadcast onUSA Networks.
Carillo is a commentator for theHallmark Channel specialPaw Star Game premiering July 12, 2015. "At best, baby cats have the barest, most rudimentary grasp of the rules and regulations of American football and baseball", said Carillo. "And that's really okay with me. Frankly, watching kittens play any sport is going to be endearing and adorable."[15] Carillo is also a commentator for Hallmark'sKitten Bowl.[16]
Carillo was born in New York City in the borough ofBrooklyn. She now splits her time betweenNaples, Florida and New York City'sGreenwich Village. She was married for 15 years to tennis instructor Bill Bowden, with whom she has two children, Anthony (b. 1987) and Rachel (b. 1991).[17] They divorced in 1998.[citation needed]
Carillo came out as gay in 2014, in an interview withOutsports.[18]
In November 2025 It was announced that Carillo was elected into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame's class of 2026.[19][20]
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1977 | French Open, France | Clay | John McEnroe |  Iván Molina Florența Mihai | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Aug 1977 | U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships, US | None | Clay | Wendy Overton |  Linky BoshoffIlana Kloss | 7–5, 5–7, 3–6 |
Carillo has written three books, all related to tennis:
Carillo appeared as herself in theromantic-comedy filmWimbledon (2004).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
