'Why disrespect the history of tennis?': Boris Becker blasts social media user's Carlos Alcaraz stat snub

The former World No. 1 didn’t take kindly to being left out of the conversation, especially considering he was the youngest player ever to complete the Queen’s Club-Wimbledon double, doing it at just 17 years old in 1985.

The original X user was quick to correct course after Becker’s public call-out, updating the post to include Becker, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, and Jimmy Connors, who are all legends from the previous century who also completed the prestigious Queen’s/Wimbledon double more than once.

A year after turning pro, the German teenager burst onto the grass court scene spectacularly, claiming his first-ever ATP singles title at Queen’s Club. Weeks later, he stunned the tennis world by winning Wimbledon, surviving two five-setters and multiple four-set battles to capture his maiden Grand Slam. That run etched his name in the record books as the youngest men’s singles champion in Wimbledon history, a record that still stands today.

Becker went on to win three more titles at Queen’s and two more at the All England Club before retiring in 1999. Yet, in his view, achievements like his are being increasingly overlooked in favour of recent champions.

Becker’s frustration reflects a broader debate about generational memory in sport and particularly in tennis, where the ATP’s recent social media focus often centers around Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and now Alcaraz.

As Wimbledon approaches and grass-court narratives begin to dominate headlines, Becker’s fiery response is a timely reminder that tennis history did not start in the 21st century.