It has been almost more than two decades (22 years to be more precise) since an American man last tasted success on a major level. With every Grand Slam tournament, there rises a new hope of seeing someone repeat Andy Roddick’s feat, but so far, the attempts have been unsuccessful. However, having said that there is light at the end of the tunnel! Currently, there are five American players inside the Top 30, with three (Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton) already securing their spots inside the Top 10. Talking about American men’s tennis during the 2025 French Open, John McEnroe said, “We gotta get some American men to win some majors. And that would make it, to me, much more interesting, if Tiafoe, or Tommy Paul (stepped up).” Surprisingly, at Roland Garros, Tommy Paul became the first American men’s tennis player to advance to the QF in 22 years, and later on, Frances Tiafoe joined him. Although the other one, i.e., Shelton, got knocked out with a defeat against Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round, he received a major boost in the Rankings recently. How does Andy Roddick analyze the current scenario in American men’s tennis ahead of Wimbledon?
Several tennis experts, including Jimmy Connors, Darren Cahill, and John McEnroe, had predicted big things about Ben Shelton in the past. But with his impressive SF run at the BOSS Open, he has finally secured a spot inside the Top 10. Reacting to this during his on-court interview after the QF match, Shelton said, “If that’s true it’s really cool, a big milestone in tennis. I guess Stuttgart is the place where Americans break into the Top 10 because I think you guys all saw Frances Tiafoe do it here a couple of years ago when he won that title.”
Although Frances Tiafoe has now dropped to 13 on that list, his chances of getting back to the Top 10 can’t be ruled out, especially after seeing his performances at Roland Garros this year. However, with Ben Shelton’s entry into the Top 10, this is the first time that we are now seeing three American men in the Top 10 club since 2006. Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, and James Blake were the last ones to achieve this massive milestone. What does Andy Roddick have to say on this?
In the recent episode of the TC Live Podcast, Roddick jokingly said, “I’ll tell you the current crop has a lot more hair than we did in ’06. We got two baldies, and I’m working on it. But listen, this is great. There’s strength in numbers and you want the volume, right? You want the healthy jealousy of Taylor Fritz making the US Open final and Tommy Paul going, ‘You know what, I can do that, I beat Taylor last week,’ and Ben Shelton going, ‘You know what I serve bigger than both of them. Why can’t I do that?’ So this is a good thing.”
Among these three, Taylor Fritz has come the closest when it comes to clinching a major title (2024 US Open final). Ben Shelton’s best record has been reaching the SF at the 2023 US Open and the 2025 AO. For Tommy Paul, it’s the 2023 AO semifinal. Talking more on this, Andy Roddick said, “We tend to focus on you know ‘the hasn’t won since X, Y, and Z’ and talk about the kind of legends of American tennis. But this is a great thing. This is a big step! 30% of the Top 10, not bad.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 21: In town for the US Open, Andy Roddick walks the red carpet at the IHG “Legends, Unmatched” soiree at the Kimpton Hotel Eventi on August 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for IHG Hotels & Resorts)
On the women’s side this year, we’ve already seen Madison Keys lifting the AO title and then followed by Coco Gauff’s 2025 French Open triumph. Earlier this year, while talking about the glorious days of American tennis, Roddick said, “I think people push each other, let’s give credit to the men too. Because the women are fantastic, we know that they have the upside to win majors, it’s proven but the men also.”
Talking about the basic difference between the current generation and his era, he said, “That wasn’t happening during my generation. You know, you weren’t having guys pop off into the semis regularly, you know? I love James and Mar they’re brothers to me but they didn’t make a semi.” We’ve heard what Roddick had to say on the brighter days of American men’s tennis, but what are Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton’s thoughts on this feat?
Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz share their thoughts on the current state of American tennis
Previously, while talking about the rise of American tennis, the USTA general manager, Martin Blackman, said, “American tennis, men and women, is in the best place it’s been since 1996.” Having said that, he had then claimed that he believes that all the top-ranked American men’s tennis players have the capability of winning a Grand Slam title.
Commenting on the same, Ben Shelton had then given a nod, saying that the quality of U.S. men’s tennis is 100 percent on the rise. “Whenever [one American finds momentum], it kind of puts the other guys on alert and I think makes them play even better.” Just a few months ago, even Taylor Fritz was heard saying that it’s great that they are now finally managing to build a tennis culture in the U.S. He gave a special mention to women’s players for doing incredibly well on the Tour and asked the guys to step it up a little bit.
As per Fritz, “Honestly, I think it’s going to take one of us winning a Slam to really get that spike of young fans on the men’s side of things.” Then, recently, while talking about the current state of American tennis, Taylor Fritz claimed that his generation has improved a lot over the years by pushing each other to chase further success.
Even his compatriot, Ben Shelton, admitted the pool of talent in the current era. “I’m excited about American tennis. We’re in an excellent position. There’s a lot of hype around American tennis, and I love being a part of it.”
However, both Shelton and Taylor Fritz recently made an early exit from the HSBC Championships. Do you think this could be a worrying factor ahead of the 2025 Wimbledon?
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