The wait for an American Grand Slam champion continues after Ben Shelton lost against Alexander Zverev in the US Open final last month, but tennis great John McEnroe believes the clock is ticking towards an end of that drought.
McEnroe has been one of the leading voices in tennis since his days dominating the game, with his seven Grand Slam singles titles a tribute to his success at the start of the 1980s.
Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Pete Sampras are among the American greats to win Slams in the era after McEnroe, but a nation that plays such a big role in tennis has not produced a major champion since Andy Roddick’s US Open win in 2003.
Now McEnroe has predicted who is the favourite to end the drought, as he suggested Shelton is best place to improve on his near miss at the US Open by getting over the line in one of the sport’s marquee events.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner dominated the Grand Slams in 2024 and 2025 and they have shared that stage with Alexander Zverev this year, after the German won his first two Grand Slams at the French Open and US Open.
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Now McEnroe has predicted who might be the next breakthrough act in men’s tennis, as he looked over the chasing pack.
“People ask me all the time when we are going to get an American winning a Grand Slam and I put Ben (Shelton) at the top of the list,” said McEnroe, speaking in his role as a Eurosport and TNT Sports pundit.
“We wait to see what happens with players like (Jakub) Mensik or Fonseca and whether these young kids can get over the hump and challenge Sinner and Alcaraz.
“Or will Sascha Zverev be dominant and win a few more Grand Slams over the next few years?
“Carlos and Jannik were a long way ahead of the rest for the last couple of years and injuries have stopped that this year, so it’s an interesting question moving forward who will step up.”
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American tennis is desperate to find a new major title winner, with McEnroe fearing the accessibility of the sport to working class communities in his country is a factor in the failure to unearth new champions.
“It feels to me that tennis is more accessible in other countries, especially Europe,” said McEnroe.
“In our country, to be blunt, the accessibility is a big issue. The best athletes play American football, basketball, in some cases, soccer. You have the affordability issues and tennis is expensive.
“You see in the women’s game that there are more opportunities because of equal prize money and the best athletes like Serena Williams end up playing tennis.
“I try to provide more opportunity for kids at my club and for kids that otherwise couldn’t afford it. There’s a great history in Europe. You look at Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic. It feels like tennis is higher up the totem pole in Europe.
“There’s a great history in America for tennis, but it is a long time since we had a men’s winner at the US Open.
“So it would be big if it happens this year. We also need to look at ways to get more kids playing tennis in America and I do that at my club by trying to give kids a chance who might not ordinarily play the sport, but it’s not easy.”
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