For two decades, men’s tennis meant Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Now Federer has retired, and the limping Nadal is nearing his end. Djokovic won three Grand Slam tournaments last year, but is suddenly struggling despite being ranked No. 1 at the French Open at the age of 36.
But life is different for those who play tennis beneath Mount Olympus. Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic have all won Grand Slam events and are still playing, as are once top-10 players Gaël Monfils, Richard Gasquet, Fabio Fognini, Roberto Bautista Agut and Kei Nishikori.
These players are still brawling in reduced conditions and are ranked much lower than they were in their halcyon days. These court elders, aged between 34 and 39, continue to grind, picking up a few wins here and there with no chance of regaining their former glory.
Now only Monfils, ranked 36th, is in the top 50. Murray ranked 75th, while Bautista Agut, Wawrinka, Fognini and Gasquet rose from 80th to 124th. Cilic fell to 1,063rd place but underwent a second knee surgery to prepare for his return, while Nishikori is ranked 347th and is still working on his return to the court. (The miraculous twist to all this is Adrian Mannarino, who suddenly broke into the top 20 for the first time this year at age 35.)
“Every day I ask myself why I’m still doing this,” Monfils said with a laugh, citing his “passion for the game” as his motivation. (He has an added incentive: His wife, Elina Svitolina, 29 and still ranked in the WTA top 20, “pushes me quite a bit.”)
Maybe one of these players could draft Jimmy Connors. In 1991, at the age of 39 and plagued by injuries, Connors entered the US Open, where he had long been sidelined, ranked 174th, advanced to the semifinals, and came from behind twice to win in five sets.
“He’s better known for that than his eight major wins,” said broadcaster Patrick McEnroe, who lost to Connors in two straight sets in the first round that year.
McEnroe said there was little chance Murray could do so in today’s more physically demanding game, barring a good performance at Wimbledon. “Most of them don’t think, ‘I want to make it big,’” he added. “They play because they’ve been doing this their whole lives and they’re making a great living. And it’s still a really good job.”
McEnroe said it is easier for these players to accept the disadvantages of age than for Federer or Nadal, who are expected to win every match and tournament. These players might not realistically expect to win in five sets against prospects like Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner. “But they won’t give up.” he said “They respect themselves, their opponents and the game.”
Murray is such a realist. Always quick to show his frustration with himself on the court, he still experiences disappointment whenever he loses. But he said: “We have to accept that deep runs may no longer exist in Grand Slams.”
“What I’m doing, trying to play at the highest level, is incredibly challenging,” said the ever-candid Murray. Having worked hard to return to the court after hip surgery, he is now trying to savor the experience. “Even work and training,” he added.
Bautista Agut said his motivation changed as he got older.
“It took me a while to understand that my situation was different,” he said. “I don’t have to focus on winning tournaments or being in the top 10. My goal now is to enjoy my tennis, enjoy the things I’m practicing and try to do that on the court.”
And while Wawrinka is still searching for the intense emotions that can only come from winning big matches at big tournaments, he continues to play for similar reasons.
“I know I’m lucky,” he said. “I love the game and the process. I’m still very motivated to work and improve.”
Gasquet said he was trying to adapt to the net like Federer as he got older, but Wawrinka denied this. He said, “I am confident in my physical strength.” Monfils tried to play more aggressively, but it was an unnatural combination. “It’s hard to change when my career is over because it’s not my game,” he said. “Instead, I work really hard to keep my speed on the court.”
Carlos Costa, Andrei Rublev’s trainer, said that as players get older, they can practice for shorter periods or less intensely between games. “It takes longer for your body to warm up and cool down, and it makes your body busier,” he said.
Because even minor injuries take longer to recover, players will need to plan their schedules carefully and perhaps participate in fewer consecutive tournaments, Costa added.
Of course, the end comes to everyone. When John Isner retired last summer at age 38, he said health was more important than results.
“I love competing. “No matter how terrible the loss was, I wanted to keep giving myself a chance,” he said. “But you will never lose sight of how hard it is to prepare your body, warm up, practice and cool down. Then I broke my wrist. “The decision was easy when even staying on the court was difficult,” he said.
Each player has his or her own perspective. For Gasquet, he said it would be his body, not the results, that would tell him it was time to leave. For Bautista Agut, it’s a combination of injury, travel and family needs. But he said winning was still important and going lower in the rankings was important.
“When you start losing to players, you can’t lose,” he said. “I’m going to think about retirement.”
