United News of Bangladesh

For the first time in nearly 24 years, none of men's tennis' legendary Big Three — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic — is ranked among the world's top 10. The milestone came Monday when Djokovic, the only member of the trio still playing, dropped from No. 5 to No. 12 in the latest rankings. The last time none of the three was in the top 10 was October 2002, when Lleyton Hewitt was ranked No. 1. At that time, George W. Bush was US president, the euro had just entered circulation, Tom Brady had recently won his first Super Bowl and Brazil had won the World Cup under Ronaldo. Federer retired in 2022 at age 41, while Nadal retired in 2024 at 38. Hewitt's 17-year-old son, Cruz Hewitt, is now an emerging professional player — another reminder of how much time has passed since his father led the rankings. Djokovic's ranking drop follows his first-round loss to Mariano Navone at the US Open 15 days ago. It was his earliest exit from a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open and the first time he had lost his opening match at the US Open. “I've been very proud of all the achievements in the past, but now is now,” Djokovic said after the defeat in New York. Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles, two more than Nadal's 22 and four more than Federer's 20. Big Three dominated top 10Federer first entered the top 10 in October 2002 and stayed there until the end of 2016. During that period, he spent a record 237 weeks as the world's No. 1. Nadal entered the top 10 in April 2005 at age 18 during his breakthrough on Europe's clay courts. He remained there for a record 912 consecutive weeks before dropping out in 2023. Djokovic was the last of the three to break into the top 10, doing so in 2007. He has spent a record 428 weeks at No. 1. It remains uncertain whether today's leading players will enjoy the same longevity. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have both missed Grand Slam tournaments this year because of injuries, while Alcaraz has said he plans to take more breaks in future seasons. Federer, speaking before his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame last month, said he was proud of playing consistently from January through November during his career. “I kind of showed up everywhere,” Federer said, adding that he never wanted his career to be focused only on Grand Slam tournaments because he enjoyed competing across the ATP Tour. Zverev most consistent in 2026The men's Grand Slam season has been different from last year. Sinner and Alcaraz met in three of the four major finals in 2025 but did not face each other in any Grand Slam final this year. Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon because of a right wrist injury, while Sinner withdrew from the US Open with a right knee injury. Alcaraz won the Australian Open and Sinner won Wimbledon, but Alexander Zverev was the most consistent player across the four majors. He won the French Open and US Open, reached the Wimbledon final and made the Australian Open semifinals. Zverev, however, said Sinner remains ahead when everyone is healthy. “If everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead,” Zverev said after beating Ben Shelton in Sunday's US Open final. “It's as simple as that.” Sinner, Zverev and Alcaraz remained first, second and third in the latest rankings. Shelton climbed five places to No. 4 after reaching the US Open final. Rybakina takes women's No. 1 spotThe women's rankings also changed at the top, with Elena Rybakina becoming No. 1 after winning two Grand Slam titles this year — the Australian Open and US Open. Her victory in New York ended Aryna Sabalenka's 99-week run at the top of the rankings. “Her serve is amazing,” Sabalenka said after Rybakina hit 12 aces against her in the US Open final. She also praised Rybakina's ability to attack and overpower opponents, particularly on the fast US Open courts.