McEnroe diagnoses the problem of men's tennis in the United States

Ben Shelton was about to end a 23-year curse, but American tennis will have to wait a little longer. Alexander Zverev became the new champion of the US Open, which means Andy Roddick will be, at least for one more Grand Slam, the last male tennis player from the United States to have won a major.

This is something that deeply pains an American who has seven Grand Slams to his name, like John McEnroe. The former world number one, always controversial with his statements, did not point to current players as the cause of the drought but rather to the foundational issues within USTA and the wide variety of sports in North America.

John McEnroe pointed to the main problem of American men's tennis

This is what the four-time US Open champion assured in a statement to Eurosport where he provided his main reason for this situation: "I get the impression that tennis is more accessible in other countries, especially in Europe," McEnroe said.

Establishment man John McEnroe response when Zverev wins match point and his 2nd Grand Slam;

"Get healthy Carlos and Jannik, please!" 🤷🏽‍♂️

They don't even hide their bias or disrespect to Zverev, I'm glad he's shutting them up by winning multiple slams!
pic.twitter.com/WzxzCKzGcx

— Pavvy G (@pavyg) September 14, 2026

He elaborated on his argument: "In our country, to be frank, accessibility is a major issue. The best athletes play football, basketball, and, in some cases, soccer. There are affordability issues and tennis is expensive."

Something that, however, he does not see in women's tennis, thanks to the figure of what many consider the greatest female tennis player in history: Serena Williams. “In women’s tennis, there are more opportunities due to prize equality and the best athletes, like Serena Williams, end up playing tennis.”

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In light of this situation, McEnroe has decided to take action and do everything in his power to promote tennis practice in the United States: “I try to provide more opportunities for the kids in my club and those who otherwise could not afford it, but it’s not easy. There is a great history in Europe. Tennis has a rich history in the United States, but it's been a long time since we’ve had a male winner at the US Open.”

The television commentator also took the opportunity to talk about Ben Shelton, who although he could not lift the champion's trophy, had an epic match against Carlos Alcaraz. For McEnroe, Shelton “played the match of his life to beat Alcaraz”.

Still, he lamented that such a long, demanding, and intense match started at 11 at night and ended beyond three in the morning: “It wasn’t the best for our game that the best match of the tournament ended at 3:30 in the morning. I spoke with Ben yesterday and he didn’t go to bed until 7:30, which is not ideal,” concluded a John McEnroe who has identified the root problem of American men's tennis but sees no easy solution.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, McEnroe diagnostica el problema del tenis masculino en Estados Unidos