Toni Nadal Hits Out At Next Gen

The former coach of Rafael Nadal has criticised the rising stars of men’s tennis after saying the majority of them have achieved ‘practically nothing’ so far in their careers.

Toni Nadal spoke out about the contingent during an interview with Gazzetta Dello Sport. The Next Gen refers to a group of players on the ATP Tour under the age of 21 who are tipped to be the next big things in the sport. At present the only player from that age group in the world’s top 20 is Stefanos Tsitsipas at seventh.

58-year-old Toni, who is the uncle of the 12-time French Open champion, has also criticised former members of the Next Gen clan for failing to break the dominance of the Big Three. A trio consisting of Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. The group has won the past 12 grand slam tournaments between them.

“I am critical of the players considered Next Gen. We talk many times that they are young and have to wait a little longer, but many of them are already 23 years old and have practically achieved nothing.” He said.
“Rafael at 19 was already at the top, Djokovic at 21 won the Australian Open and we can also talk about Sampras or Federer.”

However, there is one player who has unsurprisingly generated praise from Toni. Daniil Medvedev has enjoyed a stellar summer and took world No.2 Nadal to five sets in the final of the US Open. The Russian has made consecutive finals in Washington, Canada, Cincinnati and Flushing Meadows. Becoming only the third player in history to do so after Ivan Lendl (1982) and Andre Agassi (1995). Medvedev is currently ranked fourth in the world.

“Daniil is a very serious boy with a great tennis level. He has been the best of the Next Gen in this year’s US Open and throughout the summer, getting to face the best players in the circuit.” He said.
“I consider him a very complete tennis player, with a lot of control in the game and able to beat any tennis player. In recent years, it has been said that Zverev will be the tennis player destined to win Grand Slams in the future, but it seems that everything has changed with the arrival of this type of tennis player. “
“I consider Medvedev as the tennis player that seems to be willing to do anything to get to the top.” Toni later added.

Only three players born in the 1990s have contested the final of a major – Milos Raonic, Dominic Thiem and Medvedev. The last player to win a grand slam title before their 30th birthday was Andy Murray (29) at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.

Comparison of top 20 players under the age of 25

Note: figures based on data obtained on September 13th 2019