Few players in tennis history have had such a successful and long career as John McEnroe. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion dominated global tennis during the late 1970s and 1980s. However, when asked to imagine himself competing against modern greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner, McEnroe gave a humble assessment of himself.

“You have to figure out where I would fit in. How would I handle this?” McEnroe said on the latest episode of Off Court With Greg Rusedski. “Out of 10, I would hopefully have won three or four against these top guys, like the Federers, Nadals, and Djokovices. Now it’s Alcaraz and Sinner. I would like to think I would do okay, not that great, but okay.”

These comments came during a broader discussion about the evolution of tennis as a sport over the years. McEnroe’s great career produced 77 ATP singles titles, including four US Open and three Wimbledon titles. He spent 170 weeks as world No. 1 and was renowned for his exceptional touch at the net. McEnroe also had a unique ability to win a point out of a situation that would put any other professional in a pickle.

McEnroe’s argument is built around this evolution. Modern players are not just better athletes; they are the result of systematic training from a very early age. “They have certain advantages in terms of knowing what needs to be done more than we did before,” he explained. The American stated that while he would have loved to access today’s infrastructures, it is impossible to predict how he would have turned out under these conditions.

Why John McEnroe Believes Modern Tennis Is a Different Sport

According to McEnroe, one of the most significant changes has been the decline of traditional serve-and-volley tennis. During his prime, attacking the net after a powerful serve was the way most points were won. If a player was good around the net, they were mostly a very successful player, like McEnroe himself. Today, however, baseline exchanges rule the sport, with elite returners routinely neutralizing even the most powerful serves.

“The equipment is so different it’s hard to think about it,” McEnroe said. “The strategy and the way we were taught, as compared to the way they are taught now, are so different. It would not be like I would be serving and volleying all the time.”

To explain the change, McEnroe pointed to a player who redefined returns long before the arrival of the big three. “Before Agassi came, Jimmy Connors was the best returner I had ever played, and then all of a sudden I started playing Agassi, and he was so aggressive on his returns, more than anyone I had ever seen.”

That trend has only gained more and more momentum in the decades ahead. Modern rackets allow players to generate a lot more pace and spin while maintaining control over the court. This makes passing shots and returns significantly more dangerous. As a result, his net-rushing style of play would have largely been ineffective in today’s tennis.

And perhaps this is what makes McEnroe’s analysis all the more compelling.