Novak Djokovic He was the great dominator of the tennis circuit in 2023: he won three of the four Grand Slams, added his seventh “Master” title and finished as world number 1 for the eighth time. But in the shadow of the 36-year-old Serbian, who for a couple of seasons has been almost alone maintaining the reign of the “old guard”, the new generations gained ground in the world ranking, making it clear that the change of command of the that has been talked about for some time is now a reality.
Just check the top 100 of the current classification to verify it. Young people are the vast majority in that group, in which there are only 21 names aged 30 or older. However, the relief has not yet been reflected in the most important category of tournaments: of the six champions of Majors Of those in that first hundred, four are veterans of the racket.
The panorama has changed a lot in the last four years. In the last ranking in 2020, there were 40 players over 30, almost double the number there are today. That number had dropped to 31 at the end of 2021 and was 25 at the end of 2022.
Of the 21 who finished this year in that elite, only seven lifted at least one trophy in the season. Two did it more than once, Djokovic (7) and Adrian Mannarino (3). And only the Balkan player shouted champion in ATP 500 or higher tournaments.
The advance of the Next Gens -There are two very different ones, the one that heads Daniil Medvedev (3rd in the ranking) and the one that leads Carlos Alcaraz (2nd) – It is more evident if you analyze how the top 30 is made up. There, there are 16 players aged 25 or younger and only four who have already surpassed the 30 barrier.
And among the 10 best, Absent He is the only “old man” and there are three who are not older than 22, Alcaraz (20), Jannik Sinner (22) y Holger Rune (20), a trio with a huge future that was a great protagonist in 2023.
Stan Wawrinka, who at 38 years old is 49th, is the most experienced in the top 100; while at the other end there are three out of 19, the French Arthur Son (36°) y Luca Van Assche (90°) and the American Alex Michelsenwhich started the season 601st, reached the 94th place, finished 97th and was the one with the greatest evolution.
The young people also took over the second level of tournaments this year, the Masters 1.000which only had one winner aged 30 or over, Djokovic, champion in Cincinnati and in Paris. Although this trend had already occurred in recent seasons: in 2021 and 2021 the same statistic had been recorded.
The new faces had begun to gain ground in the ATP Finals a while ago, although Nole stopped the advance. Alexander Zverev He was crowned in 2018, at only 21 years old; Stefanos Tsitsipas, in 2019 with the same age; Medvedev, in 2020 with 24; and the German repeated in 2021, before the Serbian recovered the crown in 2022, which he retained a few weeks ago.
The big pending issue of the new litters is the Grand Slams, the most relevant category and the one that has the most weight in the discussion of who are the best in the world. And there, the young rackets were not yet able to give an effect. Although there were glimpses of what could come, with the celebrations of Medvedev and Alcaraz in the US Open in 2021 and 2022, respectively, or from Murcia in Wimbledon 2023.
Still, at that level, Djokovic refuses to hand over the baton. The Serbian is one of the four champions over 30 in the top 100, along with Andy Murray (36, owner of three “big ones”), Wawrinka (38, also with three) and Dominic Thiem (30, which he won once in New York).
Argentina accompanied the progress of the new litters. Light blue and white tennis closed 2023 with six players in the top 100, of which only one has already turned 30, Federico Coria, 31st and 88th in the ranking. The other five are Francisco Cerúndolo (21° con 25), Sebastian Baez (28° con 22), Tomas Etcheverry (30° con 24), Pedro Cachín (70° with 28) and Facundo Díaz Acosta (95° with 22). The average age of that group is 25.3.
Last year, three of the seven who had finished in that elite were 30 or older (Diego SchwartzmanCoria and Facundo Bagnis). The 2022 average was 26.7; that of had been from 2021, 27.2; and that of 2020, 28.6.
Among the top 100 in the rankings are players from 31 countries. Francewith 12, and USA, with 10, are the ones with the most rackets in that group. And there are 13 with only one representative. Argentina leads the South Americans, followed by Chilewith three and Brazil y Colombiawith one each.
Of those 31 nations, thirteen have top 100 over 30 years old. French tennis leads this statistic, with four of its 12 players in that age range, Adrian Mannarino (35), Gael Monfils (37), Richard Gasquet (37) y Constant Lestienne (31). follows him Spainwith three out of seven, Roberto Bautista Agut (35), Roberto Carballes Baena (30) y Albert Ramos Viñolas (35).
The numbers don’t lie. The new generations are gaining more and more ground on the ATP circuit. While Djokovic defends the reign of the old guard – already without the help of the retired Roger Federer and of a Rafael Nadal who will return in January for one last campaign -, young talents began to conquer important spaces. And although they have not yet been able to plant their flag in the Grand Slams, the change of command that has been expected for some time is now a reality.
The WTA, another story
The generational change that is clear in the ATP world is not replicated in the WTA. The ranking of that organization – which will still have a couple more updates in 2023 – has 20 players over 30 in the top 100, the same number that there was in the last update in 2020. Although the reality of the women’s circuit is different from that of the masculine.
Among men, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic built a hegemony of more than two decades that prevented the generations that followed them from being able to shine. But among women, only Serena Williamsowner of 23 Grand Slams, was able to maintain a dominance similar to that of that Big 3although not so overwhelming or so extensive.
Thus, the young players who emerged in the years of splendor of the American had their chances to celebrate great achievements and the replacement became common currency in the WTA classification.
What’s more, the queen of the women’s tour in recent seasons was Every Swiatek. The Pole won her first “major” in 2020, at the age of 19, and she reached the top in 2022, one month after turning 21. Today, at 22, she is the current number 1 and has already accumulated four Majors .
Swiatek is one of 12 Grand Slam champions among the top 100 players in the world, double the number in that group in the men’s rankings. Three of that group are already over 30 years old, Peter Kvitov (33), Victoria Azarenka (34) y Sloane Stephens (30).
And six are in the top 10, Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka (25 years old and the only one who brought Iga down from the top this year), Coco Gauff (19), Elena Rybakina (24), Marketa Vondrousova (24) y Barbora Krejcikova (27). The list is completed Jelena Ostapenko (26), Sofia Kenin (25) y Bianca Andreescu (23).
Argentina has only one representative in the group of the first 100. Nadia Podoroska, which at 26 years old is 69°. And among the four that are positioned between the 101st and 200th step, there are three under 25 –Lourdes Carlé23, Julia Riera21, and Solana Sierra19- and one with the same age as Rosario, Martina Capurro.