BBC Wimbledon commentator confirms shock retirement during final
Veteran BBC tennis commentator John Lloyd has announced he is commentating on his last Wimbledon - midway through Saturday's men's doubles final.
The 71-year-old, who reached the Australian Open final as a player in 1977, has commentated for the BBC since the 1990s.
The former British number one was calling the Wimbledon men's doubles final, which was won by British star Henry Patten and his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara, when he declared he would be calling time on his broadcasting career at the end of the event.
Lloyd is the second BBC commentator to announce their retirement after Wimbledon, with former women's world number five Jo Durie calling her final match last Saturday as reigning women's singles champion Iga Swiatek lost to Alexandra Eala on Centre Court.
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Andrew Castle is also leaving the BBC after the men's final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev on Sunday.
At the end of the men's doubles final, co-commentator Todd Woodbridge announced that he wanted to say a few words to Lloyd before the trophy presentations.
"Wow. Don't need to," Lloyd humbly replied.
"I believe it might be the last chance that I get to sit in the comms box with you. It's been an absolute pleasure," former Australian doubles player Woodbridge said.
"For me too, John," fellow co-commentator Chris Bradnam added. "John's last Wimbledon."
Lloyd replied: "Thank you. Yeah, it's very nice of you guys to say that."
"I look forward to meeting up with you in the members' [room] later in the day each time we come back, because you're not leaving!" Woodbridge said.
"That's for sure! That's for sure." Lloyd said.
Lloyd will not be commentating on either the men's and women's finals at Wimbledon, with Sam Smith calling the women's singles final between the Czech pairing of Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova.
Aside from his role with the BBC, Lloyd also occasionally worked on tournaments for Sky Sports and was a team captain for Great Britain in the Davis Cup until 2010.
Why three commentators will leave BBC after Wimbledon
While Lloyd and Durie have both retired from their roles, Castle is stepping down from the BBC after being told he would be demoted from lead commentator status after this year's Wimbledon.
He told The Telegraph that he would have liked to have commentated on the 2027 final to mark 25 years with the BBC, adding: "But who's bleating?"
READ MORE: BBC axe iconic commentator weeks before Wimbledon
On Castle's departure and the search for a replacement, BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski stated: "You asked there about age and gender, I don't ever look at that. It's just not how my brain works, and it won't be how the team's brain works.
"You just look at who the best people are, sometimes the best person is X, sometimes the best person is Y.
"You can see that with pundit line-ups. You can have Laura Robson and Eugenie Bouchard. You can also have Tracy Austin, who probably knows more about tennis than all of us put together. I just don't think it's about male, female and age."
He confirmed that the BBC will continue to provide courtside analysis while matches are being played - something that Sky trialled with much success during last year's US Open with Laura Robson.
Ryan Smart