Roger Federer’s departure from tennis brought tears to his eyes. His retirement also comes at a time when many sporting greats are entering their final years.
Tennis is another popular sport. Serena Williams was spotted goingWhile Valentino Rossi, the motorsport legend, has said his goodbyes, many more appear to be on their way.
Elsewhere, Lionel Messi, Cristiano RonaldoAfter remarkable careers, Lewis Hamilton and Lewis Hamilton are now showing their age.
There are understandably some fears that we may never have it so good ever again, but as their replacements begin to emerge, there’s even some signs there could be an improvement on greatness.
Here, talkSPORT takes a look at who might not just replicate the all-time greats of sport, but even better them…
Erling Haaland
The upgrade in Haaland’s teammates has completely blown any doubts about his ability to handle the perceived jump up to the Premier League.
Among the ridiculous Champions League scoring records that see the strione goal from the competitions top 30 in scoring, Haaland’s Now, England is setting new records for jaw-dropping feats.
With three Premier League hat-tricks to his name in eight games, that smashes the record of 48 it took Michael Owen, and with him already matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick tally, the question might change from can he replicate the Manchester United legend’s scoring, to can he actually beat it?
Max Verstappen
Although it might surprise some that Verstappen was unable to win the Formula 1 world championship for seven consecutive seasons, he now has a car that can match his talent. Another era of dominance within motorsport.
The Dutchman was clearly a champion when he made his debut in the sport at 17 years old, breaking the previous record by two years. But it wasn’t until his machine caught up to his talent that his skills were recognized.
Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles looked like they would never ever be matched, but with Lewis Hamilton achieving the feat, there’s only Verstappen’s talk of a relatively early retirement stopping him from joining that pantheon.
Carlos Alcaraz
With three of tennis’ ‘Fab Four’ approaching retirement as Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray’s careers come to a close, Novak Djokovic might have thought he had it all to himself, but for the sake of competition, Alcaraz’s arrival has come at a perfect time.
The Spaniard is still only 19 The youngest male world number oneIn tennis thanks to his win at September’s US Open, there is more to come. There are already a number of age records in the sport.
It’s often said that any of Djokovic, Nadal or Federer would have had a clean run at every title on offer without their rivals playing in the same era, and that might not be an issue for Alcaraz.
Shakur Stevenson
Two-weight world champion, and unified champion, at only 25 years old. Stevenson looks set for stardomIf everything goes according to plan for at least the next ten years.
Stevenson now holds a 19-0 record. The US now has a star fighter. His April masterclass against Oscar Valdez was followed by another unanimous victory against Robson Conceicao.
The only thing that might be standing in the 25-year-old’s way is countryman Devin Haney, but if either makes it to the top, they will become greats in America, and worldwide.
Iga Swiatek
Part of what made Serena Williams not just one of tennis’ all-time greats but sports was her ability to swat aside any new potential great that tried to threaten her, which makes it a shame her career didn’t cross over with Swiatek.
The 21-year old Pole looks well set to take over Williams’ record as the undisputed one to beat at the top of women’s tennis.
Swiatek, who has three Grand Slams and is world no.1, holds the 21st century record of consecutive wins with 37. She now uses the Haaland-level certainty that makes her frightening prospect.
