By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, October 20, 2025
Photo: Julien De Rosa/AFP/Getty
Not-Wilfried Tsonga is still not ready to crown the New Two ahead of the Big 3.
Former world number 5 Tsonga is one of only three men in history to beat each of the Big 4-Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray– in a Grand Slam match.
Appearing as a guest on the Univers Tennis podcast over the weekend, Tsonga was asked if he agrees with Hall of Famer John McEnroewho has called Carlos Alcaraz the best young talent he has ever seen and hailed the world No. 1 as one of the most talented athletes tennis has ever seen.
Tsonga gave a nuanced response, praising Alcaraz as a complete player but questioning whether Alcaraz and world No.2 Jannik Sinner could dominate the sport now if they had to beat the likes of the Big 4 and Juan Martin del Potro to win Slams.
“Honestly, it’s true that (Alcaraz) is developing more,” Tsonga said. “He’s a really complete player – really complete.
“Is he stronger than those players (Federer, Djokovic, Nadal) today? Mentally, physically, we don’t really know.
“What I would have liked to see is Alcaraz winning Roland Garros, but beating del Potro in the fourth round, (Federer) in the quarterfinals, Djokovic in the semifinals and Nadal in the final, that’s what I would have liked to see in real life. Because today he dominates head and shoulders and there they have two of them for one rival.
Alcaraz and Sinner have combined to collect the past eight consecutive Grand Slam championships and have made Open Era history by reaching three straight major finals this season. Nick Kyrgios and McEnroe are among the players predicting that Alcaraz could eventually match or potentially surpass Grand Slam king Djokovic’s record of 24 major championships. However, Tsonga is not so sure that is a given.
“Let’s hope it lasts and they can do it for 15 years,” Tsonga said of Alcaraz and Sinner. “In this way they will be equal to the Federers, the Nadals, the Djokovics.
“Here, but it’s not done yet. They have to see it as a mountain and they can still get there. But right now, I think in their minds, it’s one step at a time. Win six Grand Slams, I think they would have already signed up for it eventually, you know, at their age.
“Honestly, they’re potentially capable of it once again, but life has things in store for us that we don’t know about.”
Tsonga’s comments about Alcaraz and Sinner begin at about the 22-minute mark of the video above. While the interview takes place in French, you can follow along with English subtitles.
Asked if any current French players remind him of himself, Tsonga says there are similarities Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s style and his, but also points out obvious differences.
“Well in terms of playing style, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard,” said Tsonga. “Well, I don’t think we have similar games because he’s taller than me, but it’s true that there are some similarities in games.
“In any case, he’s a player where I’m at, it’s a project that I find quite exciting because there’s sick potential (in Mpetshi Perricard). And then it wouldn’t be too much for him to be very, very difficult to play.”
French hero Yannick Noah, who won the Roland Garros crown in 1983, remains the only Frenchman in the Open Era to win a major title. Tsonga names Ugo Humbert, Arthur Fils and Mpetshi Perricard as the top three players with a shot at ending France’s men’s Grand Slam title drought.
“You have to be optimistic. There are players who are potentially good,” former Australian Open finalist Tsonga said. “The story goes – and I’m the first to know – is that when I arrived, no matter what people said, no matter if I was good or not, I wanted to win a Grand Slam. And in the end, I didn’t win it. So, in reality, that’s where it’s at.
“The goal, obviously, for these (young players) today is to go and blow it up. But I think the first goal, above all, is to have a career where when they stop, they honestly won’t have too many regrets….
“All of them, be it Ugo Humbert, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Arthur Fils, there are others who are coming and pushing. There is Moutet, Rinderknech, Valentin Royer, Bonzi. All these players are players who have a little potential and who can do something good, especially the youngsters who have even more potential, who will be formed.”
