Boris Becker says tennis won't end when Big 3 retire

What's the story?

In a recent interview, tennis legend Boris Becker commented on the changing of the guard in tennis and how the eventual retirement of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic will not mark the end of tennis.

During the interview, Becker spoke from experience about the changing of generations in tennis and explained it is merely part of the sport and not something to be too fearful over.

In case you didn't know

Of all of the great narratives being discussed for the 2020 tennis season, the most talked about is whether the NextGen tennis players can finally end the Big 3's dominance over the game. Whilst this has been predicted for a few years now, there is a sense that it is truly upon us now.

The heart of the matter

Boris Becker addressed the fears of many about life after the Big 3 by suggesting that these anxieties are nothing new. The German said thoughtfully,

“Whenever an era of champions ends, we think it will be the end of tennis, but then a new generation comes along.”

He went on to add further,

“I was part of it when we ended and it was the turn of [Andre] Agassi and [Pete] Sampras. Now we are thinking this is going to end with [Federer, Nadal and Djokovic] but it is never going to end."

He ended his point on a positive note by stating,

“We have fantastic young, exciting players who are coming into their own and they will be everything in the future.”

Becker then went on to name a few players that he feels could be the ones to oust the Big 3. He said,

“Zverev, of course, will be there contending, Dominic Thiem as well. There is de Minaur and Shapovalov, who is very good, and I also want to remember Kyrgios, who has big potential and is box office when right.”

Whether the NextGen will have their revolution in 2020 remains to be seen. However, over the past 50 or so years, we have seen many legends retire and as sad as it will be when the Big 3 draw the curtain on their time, tennis will live on.