Ex-U.S. men’s tennis star offers grim but honest view of America vs. the world

FRISCO

Of the many evolutions this century in sports, few are as confounding as the “plight” of the American men’s tennis player.

The generations that followed John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras have been replaced by a group of tremendous players and athletes who collectively are not the best in the world at any point.

On Sunday in Frisco, the best American players in the last decade played each other in the finals of the Nexo Dallas Open before the largest crowd in the history of the event. Ben Shelton defeated Taylor Fritz in a two-hour, three-set match that was perfect for an American audience, as one of these two is the ideal candidate to break one of the more astounding streaks going in major professional sports.

The last time an American won a tennis Grand Slam was Andy Roddick in the 2003 U.S. Open. Roddick retired in 2012.

The closest an American has come to winning a Slam since then was Fritz, who reached the finals of the U.S. Open in 2024, where he was defeated by Jannik Sinner.

The last time an American won the men’s French Open was Agassi, in 1999; the last American to win the Australian Open was Agassi, in 2003; the last American to win Wimbledon was Sampras, in 2000.

America is deep, and not at the top

John McEnroe attended the first days of the Dallas Open to promote the event, and addressed the problem that is a problem only in the United States. The rest of the world doesn’t care if an American is or isn’t the best tennis player on the globe.

“We’re as close as you can be, considering that these two guys (Shelton and Fritz) have sort of separated themselves from everyone. So at least the guys have pushed each other,” McEnroe said. “That’s a key thing in development, but we have to keep putting younger kids in that position.”

Entering play this week, America featured seven players ranked in the top 50: Fritz (7), Shelton (9), Learner Tien (23), Tommy Paul (24), Brandon Nakashima (29), Frances Tiafoe (30), Alex Michelsen (41) and Jenson Brooksby (45).

It’s not No. 1 through 5, but this is progress.

“We have a significant amount of guys that are in that next group, right?” Roddick said to a small group of reporters before participating in the promotions of the Dallas Open. “But the next 10 or 15, the fact that we have four or five of those guys is a lot of progress from when I stopped.”

Roddick is the last American player to be ranked No. 1 in the world, when he was there in 2003 and ‘04. Shelton and Fritz have been close, but there are two new obstacles that Roddick didn’t see coming.

Tennis’ Big 3 era replaced quickly by the Big 2

Roddick’s view is not that American men’s players are bums, but rather very top of the sport remains in the hands of a precious few who are not from the United States. For about 20 years, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic ran the sport as they combined to win 66 grand slam titles.

Federer retired in 2022, and Nadal followed him two years later. Djokovic at 38 is ranked No. 3 in the world, but he’s no longer the Terminator with a racquet. In their place Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner have established themselves as the kings of the court, and the rest of the world consistently isn’t in their sphere.

“Where American tennis is no different than where the world versus Alcaraz and Sinner are right now,” Roddick said. “I thought we were going to go back to an age of parody where — ‘crazy’ — I thought people would win seven slams or six slams or four slams, and then they would kind of be enough to go around.

“I didn’t see the era of selfishness exhibited by the Big Three continued through this new generation, especially this quickly.”

What can American tennis do to catch up?

In maybe more ordinary times, a Fritz, Shelton or Tiafoe may have won a Grand Slam by now. The talent and athleticism are there. There continues to be a difference in the top of the sport, and the rest.

From mental aspects to the game, to the development on the younger stages, everyone has a theory, but no real solution.

“It’s not consistent with everyone; those guys (Sinner and Alcaraz) are just really, really, really good,” Fritz said. “There are certain things the American guys might do as well, or better, but there are parts to the game where they can’t quite match them.”

This is not a topic, Fritz said, that is a source of discussion among U.S. men’s pro tennis players.

Fritz did say on the development side there are a few areas where America could improve, starting with facilities and the need for America’s top young players to play each other more frequently. America’s top players tend to be spread out between training facilities in New York, Florida and California.

A top tier training facility draws a pro player to work out there, and they can hit with the talented teenager, who improves with that exposure and experience.

As evidenced by the top 50 players in the world, American men’s tennis is not in bad shape, but they’re all still trying to reach the very top and end one of the more bizarre streaks going in pro sports.