Mary Carillo (born March 15, 1957) is an American sportscaster and former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. She is an analyst for '' Tennis on NBC'' and a reporter for

NBC Olympic broadcasts The broadcasts of ''Summer'' and ''Winter Olympic Games'' produced by ''NBC Sports'' are shown on the various platforms of NBCUniversal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com, Peacock, Spanish l ...

Career

Tennis

Carillo played on the women's professional tennis circuit from 1977 to 1980. Her highest world rank was No. 33 in the Women's Tennis Association Rankings from January through March 1980. She then retired, citing knee injuries. Carillo never won a major singles title, but did win the 1977 French Open mixed-doubles title with

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

. Carillo and McEnroe made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon before being defeated, and later that year Carillo was a women's doubles quarterfinalist at the US Open.

WTA Tour finals

;Doubles 1 ;Mixed doubles 1

Sportscasting

Tennis coverage

Carillo began her television career working for

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

from 1980 to 1987,

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

from 1981 to 1986 and

MSG Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium Salt (chemistry), salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a fl ...

from 1981 to 1988. She then worked for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

from 1988 to 1997 and again from 2003 to 2010. She also worked on US Open coverage for

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

from 1986 to 2014. In addition, Carillo worked as both a host and analyst on HBO's Wimbledon coverage from 1996 to 1999, and on

Turner Sports Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS, TNT, AT&T SportsNet, and TruTV. ...

' Wimbledon coverage from 2000 to 2002. In May 2003, Carillo joined NBC Sports as an analyst on its French Open and Wimbledon coverage, having made her debut as an analyst on NBC for the 1996

Family Circle Cup The Credit One Charleston Open, formerly known as the Volvo Car Open and the Family Circle Cup, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in ...

tennis event. She also does commentary on The Tennis Channel. Carillo's candid and insightful commentary has earned her accolades throughout the industry, including the distinction of being called "the sport's top analyst" by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

''. She is known for her deep voice, quick wit and pointed sense of humor. Like her longtime friend and fellow Douglaston, Queens, New York native

, 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 as

Lindsay Davenport Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. Davenport was ranked singles world No. 1 for a total of 98 weeks, and was the year-end singles world No. 1 four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005) ...

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

and

Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...

. Carillo's unabashed and opinionated style of commentary has drawn criticism from several top players, notably

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men to ac ...

, Serena and

, and

Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ( , ; rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова, p=mɐˈrʲijə ʂɐˈrapəvə, a=Maria_sharapova.ogg; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. She competed on the WTA Tour from 2 ...

. Nevertheless, she was named Best Commentator by ''

Tennis Magazine ''Tennis'' is a U.S. print sports magazine devoted to the sport of tennis. It is published eight months per year, and operates a website, Tennis.com. History The magazine was established in May 1965, published out of Chicago with a regional focu ...

'' (1988–91), Best Commentator by ''World Tennis'' magazine (1986) and Broadcaster of the Year by the

Women's Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tenn ...

(1981 and 1985).

Olympic coverage

Carillo served as Olympic tennis analyst at both the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and Sydney Summer Olympics and as the

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

reporter for CBS's coverage at the

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, Lillehammer and

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

Winter Olympics. During NBC's coverage of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics she covered

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

, luge and skeleton 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. In addition, Carillo's work co-hosting the 2002 Closing Ceremony alongside Dan Hicks earned her critical acclaim. At the 2004 Athens Games, Carillo earned critical praise in her debut as a full-time Olympic host on Bravo's coverage in addition to anchoring

's live, Grand Slam-style coverage of the tennis gold medal finals. She delivered a lengthy, well-received commentary on badminton during this coverage. At the 2006 Winter Games in

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

Carillo hosted '' Olympic Ice'', a daily

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...

show on the

. She co-hosted the daily figure-skating television program with Scott Hamilton,

Dick Button Richard Totten Button (born July 18, 1929) is an American former figure skater and skating analyst. He is a two-time Olympic champion (1948, 1952) and five-time consecutive World champion (1948–1952). He is also the only non-European man to h ...

, and Jamie Salé and David Pelletier. Carillo served as late-night show host, closing ceremony host, and "Friend of

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

" for the 2008 Beijing Games, her ninth Olympic assignment and sixth with NBC. Her role focused on cultural commentary and "slice of life" pieces about China. She repeated these duties—late-night host and human-interest reporter—for NBC's coverage of the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

in Vancouver, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She was also one of the torch bearers during the torch's tour through Canada.

Other activities

Since 1997, Carillo has been a correspondent on HBO's ''

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel ''Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel'' is a monthly sports news magazine on HBO. Since its debut on April 2, 1995, the program has been presented by television journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel. Overview Format Each episode consists of fo ...

'', winning a

Sports Emmy Award The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports E ...

for her ''Real Sports'' feature on the Hoyt Family. In 2009, 2013, and 2016, she co-hosted the 133rd, 137th and 140th

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, traditionally held annually at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs ...

broadcast on

USA Networks The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Carillo is a commentator for the ''

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...

'' special ''Paw 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." Carillo is also a commentator for Hallmark's '' Kitten Bowl''.

Bibliography

Carillo has written three books, all related to tennis: * ''Tennis My Way'' (1984), for which she is second author to Martina Navratilova * ''Rick Elstein's Tennis Kinetics: With Martina Navratilova'' (1985), for which she is uncredited * ''Tennis Confidential II: More of Today's Greatest Players, Matches, and Controversies'' (2008), for which she is second author to Paul Fein

Filmography

Carillo appeared as herself in the romantic-comedy film '' Wimbledon'' (2004).

Board membership

* She is a former member of the

's Board of Directors. * In 2010, she was named President of USTA Serves - Foundation for Academics, Character and Excellence

Awards and honors

* Twice named Broadcaster of the Year by the

(1981, 1985) * Named "Best Commentator" by '' World Tennis Magazine'' (1986), ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' (1986) and ''

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

'' magazine (1988–91) * 2008 inductee to National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. * Carillo received two Peabody Awards for co-writing, with

Frank Deford Benjamin Franklin Deford III (December 16, 1938 – May 28, 2017) was an American sportswriter and novelist. From 1980 until his death in 2017, he was a regular sports commentator on NPR's ''Morning Edition'' radio program. Deford wrote fo ...

, the HBO documentary ''Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sport'', as well as a Billie Jean King documentary. * Won a

for her feature on the Hoyt family * Won the 2010

Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism The Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism was established in 2002 to honor the memory of one of America's pre-eminent sports writers, Dick Schaap. The award is presented by the Nassau County Sports Commission and is given out to the journa ...

first female recipient of the award * Won the ITF's 2015 Philippee Chatrier Award, for her outstanding contribution to tennis. * Won a 2016 (Annalee) Thurston Award, for her storied sportscasting career. * Won 2017 Eugene L. Scott Award by the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

* 2018 inducted into Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame

Personal life

Carillo was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in the borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. She now splits her time between

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

and New York City's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. She was married for 15 years to tennis instructor Bill Bowden. They have two children and divorced in 1998.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carillo, Mary 1957 births 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American female tennis players American writers of Italian descent American television reporters and correspondents American television sports announcers Figure skating commentators French Open champions Living people Peabody Award winners Olympic Games broadcasters People from Greenwich Village Sportspeople from Naples, Florida Sports Emmy Award winners Sportspeople from Manhattan Sportspeople from Queens, New York Sportswriters from Florida Sportswriters from New York (state) Tennis commentators Tennis people from Florida Tennis people from New York (state) Women sports announcers Women's college basketball announcers in the United States Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Writers from Florida Women sportswriters Writers from Manhattan American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American women television journalists Women sports commentators