updated 4:03 p.m. ET July 2, 2007

WIMBLEDON, England - This year’s “Breakfast at Wimbledon” will be Bud Collins’ last at NBC.

The 78-year-old sports writer and TV personality won’t have his contract renewed by the network, making this his 35th and final Wimbledon with NBC.

“So I had 35 great years with them. I have no complaints about them, but I hope to stay in tennis,” Collins said Monday at the All England Club. “I’m not retiring. Too young to retire.”

NBC Sports spokesman Brian Walker declined comment.

Collins contributes for MSNBC.com.

Collins will work on the air in the same role he has during recent Wimbledons, conducting on-court interviews after the men’s and women’s singles finals.

“They’re going to do a tribute, I understand. A retrospective,” Collins said. “And I’ll be there and I’ll say ... I had a wonderful career with NBC, I was a very lucky guy, and I’m leaving but I don’t intend to leave tennis.”

Collins began writing for the Boston Globe in 1963 and is best known for his tennis coverage, but he also has covered everything from baseball to boxing. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994, and won the Red Smith Award presented by The Associated Press Sports Editors in 1999.

He’s known for his colorful words and colorful outfits.

Among the nicknames he’s credited with bestowing on star tennis players are “Fraulein Forehand” for Steffi Graf and “Sisters Sledgehammer” for Venus and Serena Williams.

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