Boris Becker: "We're experiencing a tennis boom"

When the question of the end of the careers of the Big 3, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, kept popping up in the tennis world a few years ago, many tennis experts and fans were worried about who would follow in the footsteps of the multiple Grand Slam champions. Would tennis fall into a hole? When would a new generation be ready to win the big tournaments? And could other players ever inspire as much as Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have done over the past 15 years?

Federer ended his career in 2022 at the Laver Cup in London. Since then, none of the Big 3 have returned to the international team competition as players. It is therefore noticeable that Nadal and Djokovic, who, unlike Federer, are still active on the tennis tour, are increasingly starting to move out of the spotlight.

The new generation taking over

But there is good news. Because one thing is clear, especially in the 2024 season: a new generation is not just on the starting blocks, but has already taken over. For the first time since 2002 - 22 years ago - none of the Big 3 triumphed in a Major. The 2024 Grand Slam winners were Jannik Sinner (Australian Open and US Open) and Carlos Alcaraz (French Open and Wimbledon).

Italian Sinner has been at the top of the world rankings since April. Since the end of the US Open, 27-year-old Alexander Zverev has been ranked second, with Alcaraz in third place.

Boris Becker: ‘I'm a big fan of team competitions!’

Boris Becker follows the events on the tennis tour intensively as a commentator and expert. Tennis Channel DE met the 56-year-old at the 2024 Laver Cup in Berlin, where he was invited as a guest and watched the matches of Alcaraz, Zverev & Co. alongside Roger Federer.

In conversation, the former pro emphasised the importance of team competitions for tennis. ‘I'm a big fan of team competitions, I liked playing in the Davis Cup. I've always watched the Laver Cup, this is my first time here in person,’ said Becker. ‘And I feel very proud to have been invited to the German capital.’

It's important to have tournaments like the Laver Cup, where the world's best play.

This year, the Laver Cup was held in Germany for the first time. With Alcaraz and Zverev, not only were two top-3 players competing, but also two European crowd-pullers.

‘First of all, it is extremely important for Germany as a tennis location to have the Laver Cup in Berlin. It is equally important that we have the best German tennis player, Sascha Zverev, in our ranks here,’ explained Becker. In Becker's eyes, a team event like the Laver Cup helps to further promote tennis in Germany, but also international tennis:

We are currently experiencing a tennis boom internationally and in Germany, too, many people are watching more tennis than before. So it's important to have tournaments like the Laver Cup, where the best in the world play.

Becker's Laver Cup team picks

But who are the best players in the world according to the German tennis legend? When asked what his own Laver Cup team would look like with three dream players, Becker is clear: ‘Three is not enough. But I would choose the three best: in this case, that would be Alcaraz, Sinner and Zverev. Two of them are in Berlin.’

For Becker, one thing is clear: the new tennis generation has arrived among the world's elite, and with them, but also with the help of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, enthusiasm for international tennis continues to grow.