WILL THERE BE ANOTHER FEDERER?

Fan-favourite Carlos Alcaraz could be next to take over Roger Federer's throne. (Getty/Clive Brunskill)

It’s been four years since we last saw Roger Federer on the tennis court. While Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have since passed him in terms of total career majors, fans still hold Federer in higher regard.

Whether it was the way he played the game, his great sportsmanship or simply his gentlemanly personality, everyone loved Federer from basically the start to finish of his career, as he won major after major.

Now, in the year 2025, we’re left asking if we will ever see another Federer.

This doesn't mean his greatness on court, though. Witnessing another player like that will most likely never happen again, at least in our lifetimes, if ever.

But will we ever see another player who has a unanimous approval rating?

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A player where if you walked into a room full of people and asked for their opinion on them, not one person would have a negative thing to say.

Someone who has the whole crowd cheering for them like they’re a sports team playing a home game.

It’s no secret Djokovic has never come close to reaching this, even Nadal and Serena Williams had their haters.

So with these three legends failing to meet the Federer level of love, are there any current players who could?

For starters, one crucial part of the criteria is that the player has to be a winner.

Not just a few matches, but you need to be able to pencil them into at least the quarter-finals of every major, at worst, with an expectation that you’ll be seeing them in nearly every semi.

The player must also be graceful, have no off-court drama and not be a hot head on the court. Three things that are very hard for one player to achieve.

So, with that being said, who are some candidates?

On the men’s side, currently Jannik Sinner is ranked No.1 in the world, is the holder of the US Open and has won the last two Australian Opens.

Since the start of 2024, Sinner’s worst finish in a major was the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, and at just 23 years of age, you get the feeling the Italian will be adding to his trophy cabinet for at least the next decade.

However, there’s a rather large elephant in the room.

Earlier this year, Sinner was given a three-month ban for failing a drug test twice, as he was found to have a very low amount of the banned substance called Clostebol in his system.

Now it was deemed that he ingested it accidentally after his trainer had used a spray containing the substance on an open wound, but unfortunately in the court of public opinion, intentional or not, sports fans are very unforgiving, especially when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs.

For casual sports fans, it may be what they associate Sinner with the most, which, rightly or wrongly, makes it hard for him to become the next Federer, as this will always be a black mark on his career.

So, who’s next on the rankings?

Well, at number two it’s Alexander Zverev.

You can basically rule him out straight away though, as at 28-years-old, Zverev has never won a major and has lost three finals.

The world No.2 is far from consistent when it comes to the big stage, and in recent years, he’s been eliminated multiple times before the last-eight stage.

It also doesn’t take too much research to see why Zverev won’t ever reach the same lovable status as Federer.

So, with not much luck so far on the men’s side of things, what about on the women’s?

Had Ash Barty still been playing, her incredibly high approval rating worldwide, along with her winning abilities, may have seen this be her, but in her absence, a new star has risen, and that is Aryna Sabalenka.

The Belarusian is certainly making up for a lack of early career wins over the last couple of years, as since 2023, she has won the Australian Open twice and the US Open once, while making the semis in both Wimbledon and the French Open.

At 26, she has a big future ahead of her, and with her recent success and social media dances, she has become very well-liked amongst the fans, in particular the younger audience.

Sabalenka is definitely the strongest candidate on the women’s side of things as we currently stand, as no other player has the combination of high levels of winning and likeability.

It may be harsh, but it feels like she needs to do a bit more winning in order to come even close to Federer's level.

So, onto number three in the men’s - Carlos Alcaraz.

The Spaniard raced onto the scene early, winning a wildcard spot at the 2021 Australian Open at just 17, and a year later, he showed that he was the real deal, winning the US Open.

It didn’t take long for Alcaraz to prove he wasn’t a one-hit wonder, as in 2023 he’d reach the semi-finals of the French and US Open, while taking home Wimbledon.

2024 saw him finish runner-up in the Olympics, winning the French Open and defending his Wimbledon title, meaning at just 21, he had already won four majors.

With no drama off the court and a play style that he has said is modelled off Federer, Alcaraz seems like the sure-fire candidate.

It’s hard to dislike him, and if he keeps winning, he may one day have a real chance at being atop the list of all-time major winners, so if anyone is to get close to Federer, this is the player.

Yet, while Sabalenka and Alcaraz could one day get close, research concludes that they just don’t see any player reaching the same status.

It’s an incredibly high bar that Federer has set, one that all tennis fans should be grateful we got to watch.

When the Swiss maestro took the court, it was appointment viewing; everyone was either glued to their TV watching him or, if due to time zones they couldn’t stay awake to watch him, the first thing you’d do the next morning was check to see if he won.

Unfortunately, Alcaraz or Sabalenka right now don’t fall into this category, and neither do any of their competitors.

It was worth looking into, but for now at least, it doesn’t seem like there will be another Roger Federer.

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