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Athlete Names Across Sports, Pronounced Right

From the pitch to the court, names commentators still double-check.

Ronaldinhoroh-nal-DEEN-yoh

Brazilian footballer — "nh" makes an "ny" sound.

Zlatan IbrahimovicZLAH-tan ee-brah-HEE-moh-vich

Swedish-Bosnian footballer — a genuine mouthful, broken into clear chunks.

Wojciechowskivoy-chuh-HOF-skee

Polish surname pattern — the W sounds like a V.

KvitovaKVEE-toh-vah

Czech tennis player.

DjokovicJOK-oh-vich

Serbian tennis champion — the "Dj" makes a J sound.

Giannis AntetokounmpoYAH-nis an-teh-toh-KOOM-poh

Greek-Nigerian NBA star — his own team nicknamed him "the Greek Freak" partly for this reason.

Mbappeem-BAH-pay

French footballer — the initial M and B blend together.

Nikola JokicYOH-kich

Serbian NBA star — the J is pronounced like a Y.

HaalandHOE-lan

Norwegian footballer — the double-A makes a long "oh" sound.

Yannick NoahYAH-nik NOH-ah

French tennis champion, later a singer.

More mispronounced word lists

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