Stakhovsky discusses the new generation: "Their results are much lower than those of the generation that preceded them"

Former world number 31, Serhiy Stakhovsky reacted to the comments of his compatriot Alexandr Dolgopolov, who had claimed that the current top 15 is weaker than about ten years ago.

AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 03/12/2025 à 07h45

2 min to read

Alcaraz Djokovic Federer Nadal Sinner Stakhovsky Thiem Tsitsipas Zverev

Professional between 2003 and 2022, Serhiy Stakhovsky is mainly known for defeating Roger Federer in the second round of Wimbledon in 2013. The Ukrainian eliminated the defending champion and record holder for titles on the London grass, to everyone's surprise.

Now involved on the front lines to defend his country, Stakhovsky agreed with his compatriot Dolgopolov, who had stated in recent days that the top 15 is weaker than in his time but that players ranked between 50th and 100th are generally stronger than before.

"I would say the average level has increased. Sinner and Alcaraz display very high-quality and intense tennis, but their performances are quite unstable. They sometimes lose matches to players who, for example, would never have beaten the Big 3 during their careers. I would say that between 3rd and 20th place, players change positions very often, and new players very frequently enter the top 20.

Stakhovsky not gentle with the new generation

And overall, the level of points allows for significant drops and rises, which was not the case in our time. Because three players won 50 to 60% of the points at stake and, of course, the fight for points for the other positions was tough. I think if we look at Sasha (Zverev)'s best ranking with his point total at the time, if we applied it today, he might be in the top 10, but we have to see.

That's why I think the average level of players between 40th and 200th place has improved. Overall, they show the same tennis, and everyone can beat everyone. This does not honor the best players, because in reality, their results are much lower than those of the generation that preceded them.

When I ended my career, everyone said that the new generation embodied by Tsitsipas, Zverev, and Thiem would share all the major tournaments. And what have they shared? Thiem has already retired, Zverev hasn't won anything yet, Tsitsipas hasn't either.

"There are many factors that negatively influence players' careers"

We simply say that the group of players who were supposed to take over not only failed to do so... They play under the same conditions as Djokovic, whom they were supposed to replace, and Djokovic still reaches the semifinals of Grand Slam tournaments.

The level displayed by Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer at their peak pushed the rest of the tour upward. In my opinion, there are many factors today that negatively influence tennis players' careers. Because of this, they earn a lot of money and are not very interested in fully dedicating themselves to results and getting as close as possible to the best tennis they can show," he stated for Tribuna.