Tennis misplaced of its all-time greats last yr with the retirements of Roger Federer and Serena Williams however ITF President David Haggerty says the future of the game is in safe fingers with the rise of a sparkling generation of younger players.
American Williams, a 23-times singles Grand Slam champion, and Swiss maestro Federer, who gained 20 majors, had an oversized effect on the sport, each on and stale the courtroom, and their absence has been keenly felt.
International Tennis Federation (ITF) leader Haggerty was hoping the Grand Slam identify race among Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic would hold for some time longer however said the likes of 19-year-old US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz have been already proving themselves at the big stage.
“I pass lower back to after I changed into more youthful and might listen some of the same concerns that were raised when Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier … While that era turned into retiring and shifting on,” he informed Reuters on Tuesday.
“And we’ve visible that the void that human beings notion is probably there was filled with top players. I say the identical component these days.
“We have had correct fits at the men aspect with Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. In the Australian Open we saw some of the young American players come via to the sector-finals.”
Haggerty stated the girls’s game turned into also in quality fettle with Roland Garros and US Open winner Iga Swiatek filling the void left with the aid of former world number one Ash Barty after her retirement.
“People were concerned with who’s going to be the top lady participant,” Haggerty said.
“And Swiatek went on a great streak of wins and confirmed the world she was the only. Tennis has a few terrific stories and personalities as well as a way to retain to grace the stage and make it the critical game that it’s far.”Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma shattered the 25-yr-antique global indoor three,000m report on Wednesday by way of multiple 2d on the Lievin assembly as Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis gained his third successive pole vault event.
Girma clocked 7min 23.81sec to better the old mark of 7:24.Ninety set by using Kenya’s Daniel Komen in Budapest in February 1998.
The Ethiopian raced by myself over the ultimate 4 laps and changed into observed home by using Spaniard Mohamed Katir, who broke the European record in 7:24.Sixty eight, a time also below the vintage global file.
Girma is a consultant exterior within the 3000m outdoor steeplechase, an event wherein he turned into the 2021 Olympic silver medallist.
He was additionally runner-up within the global championships in Doha in 2019 and closing yr at Eugene. Indoors, he received silver in the 3000m on the 2022 worlds.