Wow, 2024 was like retirement central for tennis, wasn’t it? Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber, Dominic Thiem…so many legends hung up their rackets. And now, just a month into 2025, we’ve already seen Simona Halep and Diego Schwartzman say goodbye! It makes you wonder, with all these stars leaving, even though new ones will rise, will we ever have another era like the one we’re losing? Even Boris Becker thinks we’ll miss these guys!

On Wednesday, the renowned tennis journalist, Bastien Fachan, shared a list of 12 players who hung up their rackets in the last 12 months. Becker was quick to react: “What an incredible list of excellent players, some of them real superstars and game changers! Enjoy retirement now! The game of tennis 🎾 will miss you …” 

When Becker’s compatriot Angelique Kerber announced that she’d retire after the Paris Olympics, he congratulated her on her incredible career and stated, “Dear Angie, big compliments on your career! You are a role model for all young women…congratulations!”

After that, following Andy Murray‘s retirement, the German former player advised Brit: “It’s very important to find something you love as much as you love tennis. I know you have a family, have a wife and four kids but you’re only 37. So half of your life is ahead of you. Find something professionally that you are as passionate about as you were tennis and good luck with it.”

Then came Rafael Nadal’s retirement. Becker said that he felt that the retirement news was like “a punch in the gut“. He, later on, even came up with an IG post calling the Spaniard, “One of the most iconic sportsman ever, sadly left the game of tennis. You gave us unbelievable moments on court that will be remembered forever. A deep sense of gratitude from me and anybody that loves the game.”

Even when Simona Halep and Diego Schwartzman took their call, Boris Becker was among the first ones to drop a reaction to their incredible careers. However, now since all these superstars are already gone, who are the probable candidates to carry forward this legacy?

Boris Becker names the successors of the ‘Big 3’

Roger Federer took his retirement from the sport on 23 September 2022 while Nadal hung up his racket last year. Although Novak Djokovic is still active on the main tour, his form has dropped quite significantly in the last twelve months. He failed to clinch a major title last year and his only success was winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Now, this leads us to the next question: Who will carry forward the legacy after them?

Well, according to the German legend, “Tennis will always continue with great new stars. But there will be a dip and then the spotlight will be on the young generation to say, ‘Now, show up. Who are you? Are you good enough, can you carry the sport, or was it all a bluff’?” 

Well, in October last year, Becker had told the Italian publication, La Gazzetta dello Sport, “We can define Sinner and Alcaraz as the Djokovic and Federer of the future, although with due proportions.” Becker sees similarities between Alcaraz and Federer, and between Sinner and Djokovic. But that leaves the question: who does he think resembles the most with Rafa?

While talking about the probable candidate to fill the void left by Rafael Nadal, the German said, “The one closest to reaching the top for me is Ben Shelton. The most ready, at first, seemed to be Holger Rune, but this year he hasn’t made much progress. I watched the American [Shelton] for a long time in the Laver Cup, in singles and doubles, and I liked his attitude. He smiles, he puts on a show, he entertains and he has fun… I think that with these guys, tennis is really in good hands.”

Talking about tennis being in safe hands, Becker was also recently spotted heaping praise on the 18-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca for his incredible performances in the last few months. Do you agree with Becker’s ‘next Big 3’?