Casper Ruud puts Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner above Big 3 for shot speed
NewsSaturday, 06 December 2025 at 12:00
Casper Ruud claimed on Friday that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik
Sinner are hitting tennis balls at a greater speed than Novak Djokovic, Rafael
Nadal and Roger Federer did.
Collectively known as the Big 3, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer
ruled the courts from 2003 to 2023. The trio claimed 66 Grand Slams of the total
83 up for grabs during the period. They ruled the ATP singles rankings,
amassing a combined 947 weeks as the World No. 1.
While Djokovic continues to make life tough for opponents on
the tennis court, Alcaraz and Sinner have largely taken over the reins. The two
have shared the last eight Majors evenly and sit atop the world rankings.
Ruud, who once looked like a convincing heir of the Big 3, has
acknowledged Alcaraz and Sinner’s prowess. The Norwegian even put the two above
Djokovic, Nadal and Federer for their ball-striking ability when asked a
question about the two ahead of the UTS Grand Final London.
"You can discuss back and forth as much as you want about different eras, but the fact for me is that Sinner and Alcaraz hit the ball with more speed than the 'Big 3' did."- Casper Ruud told Tennis365
"Rafa always went full out on his forehand, but he had more spin on his backhand and now we have Carlos and Jannik… no side is a weakness. It doesn’t matter if it’s the backhand or forehand, they will rip it. Also, they move well, physically. They just move great."
Ruud further noted that Alcaraz and Sinner move to defend their court like Djokovic used to. He inconveniently admitted the two have separated themselves from the group in a flash and others have no way but to do better than them in all departments.
"Jannik could always rip the ball, but one area he has taken to the next level is his movement. You see him sliding, defending anywhere on the court. The same with Carlos and I feel they defend in a way that Novak did.
"You feel like you have them on the defence and in one shot, they are on the offensive again. It has been really, really impressive and at times a little bit annoying how good they have become, but you just have to accept it and we just have to do better to beat them."
Alcaraz and Sinner may have begun to impress their fellow competitors but have a long way to match the achievements of the Big 3.
For starters, the Spaniard has six Grand Slam trophies in his bag and Sinner has four. Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have 24, 22 and 20 Majors to their name respectively. Overall, the Swiss Maestro boasts of 103 titles, the Serb has 101 and Nadal finished with 92.
Alcaraz and Sinner have 24 titles each but with hopefully more than a decade of top tennis left in the two, they may equal or surpass the Big 3.
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