Months after Novak Djokovic controversy at Australian Open, analyst Tony Jones snubbed from Channel 9's Wimbledon coverage

Channel Nine analyst Tony Jones, who was involved in a controversy with Novak Djokovic during the Australian Open 2025, has been left out of the broadcaster's coverage team for Wimbledon. The Grand Slam is set to start later this month, and the Serb will hope to contend for the men's singles title.

The heat of this controversy started after Jones seemingly mocked some of the Serbian's fans during the Australian Open by addressing Djokovic as "overrated". Reacting to these comments, Djokovic termed them offensive and also refused to give an on-court interview to Jim Courier, a Channel Nine reporter after his fourth round match against Jiri Lehecka.

Following this, he also urged Jones' employer, Channel Nine, to address the incident on its own accord and demanded an apology. The Australian commentator later apologized to Novak Djokovic, who was reported to have accepted the former's apology.

Several months after this controversial scene, Channel Nine hasn't included Jones in its coverage team for Wimbledon. A statement shared by a spokesperson of the broadcasting company named several commentators for the Grand Slam, but Jones' name was missing from the list. The spokesperson stated (via TV Tonight):

"Nine’s comprehensive coverage of Wimbledon kicks off Monday, June 30, led by our outstanding team including Todd Woodbridge, Jelena Dokic, Alicia Molik and Sam McClure. This year, 9News will be optimising resources for Wimbledon with extensive reporting and daily coverage support from our London bureau team."

Djokovic, on the other hand, is coming off semifinal losses to Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev at the French Open and the Australian Open, and thereby will be looking to go big at Wimbledon 2025.

Novak Djokovic revealed what he said to the CEO of Tennis Australia after refusing on-court interview amid Tony Jones' controversy

Novak Djokovic (Image via: Getty)

Novak Djokovic shed light on his conversation with the CEO of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley, after he refused to give an on-court interview to Channel Nine commentator Jim Courier, amid the controversy with Tony Jones.

Djokovic shared that he had told Tiley that Tennis Australia can levy fines on him for his act, but he wanted to make his stance clear over the situation. Djokovic said (via Tennis.com):

"I just wanted to make sure that he knows where I stand and the reasons behind it. So I told him: ‘If you guys want to fine me for not giving an on-court interview, that’s OK.’ I’ll accept that ’cause I feel like this is something that needs to be done. That’s all there is to it."

Besides Novak Djokovic, several other professional players, such as Danielle Collins, took issue with Tony Jones during the 2025 Australian Open.

Edited by Tushar Bahl