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John McEnroe Doesn't Hold Back On State Of American Tennis

Originally posted on The Spun | By Daniel Bates | Last updated May 26, 2025 3:57 PM ET

It's been over 30 years since tennis legend John McEnroe retired from singles play in 1994, and he still might be the most popular American men's player in the sport.

That's a problem for U.S. tennis — which hasn't seen a star approach McEnroe's greatness in quite some time. And the 66-year-old Hall of Famer believes now is the opportunity for Americans to step up.

On a recent press call in the midst of the French Open, McEnroe argued that the lack of winning has cost the sport of tennis its standing with the public and contributed to the United States' loss of interest in the game.

"Obviously, the key thing is, we gotta get a Ben Shelton to win one. We gotta get some American men to win some majors. And that would make it, to me, much more interesting, if [Frances] Tiafoe, or Tommy Paul [stepped up]," McEnroe said.

"We need a fresh generation in our sport, big time," the seven-time Grand Slam winner continued. "It's a transition period where we have to do a much better job [of] marketing ourselves, and hopefully this is … the beginning of something where we can do just that, with this tournament."

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 12: John McEnroe during a practice session for Milos Raonic at the Aegon Championships at Queens Club on June 12, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Joel Ford/Getty Images)

There's no question that tennis has kind of fallen to the back of many Americans' minds over the years and there are probably many factors that have contributed to that.

Hopefully the U.S. and some its rising stars can help turn a new generation of fans back onto the sport. But it certainly has some work to do before it can catch up to the rest of the country's other major leagues and golf.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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