"Exactly. That’s precisely what I meant" - Mouratoglou uses clips of current tennis players to back up contentious top 10 argument

A debate has recently been discussed in the tennis world with comparisons being drawn between the top 10 from 10 years ago compared to now and who was better. Patrick Mouratoglou began this debacle by stating that it is stronger now, and he has since come back to reiterate his reasoning.

The former tennis coach has had a heated exchange with former Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga about this, with the former world number five leaning towards his prior generation, as have many other fans who want to utter their opinion on the situation.

A decade ago the top 10 was spearheaded by the Big Three consisting of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Other talents such as Andy Murray, Juan Manuel del Potro and Stan Wawrinka filling in the gaps.

While Djokovic is still around, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the dominant forces at the top of the ladder. The chasing pack includes Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Bublik.

"I answered 'no' to the question of whether the top 10 was better 10 years ago," Mouratoglou began in a video on Instagram. "That created a lot of passion and a lot of extremism. I thought, wow — it’s crazy, because I thought it was okay to express an opinion. Apparently, it’s not for everyone."

He used case studies from other players stating the same views as him to give more support to his argument and provide more analysis from a different perspective. Tsonga's argument reached more people as he was a player who experienced it compared to Mouratoglou who watched on the sidelines.

"Anyway, the same question was asked to some of the current top-10 players — guys who have competed against both the previous generation and the current one. I think we should listen to what they said."

He then showed numerous clips of players answering the question. "I think tennis got better, tennis got quicker, tennis got faster, tennis got more physical," said Zverev at the 2026 Australian Open. "The evolution of the game is right now, the level is really high. That's for sure. The new generation is always going to be better than the last generation," Wawrinka commented in Dubai.

"I think there's a big like nostalgia factor to it. I also beat top 10 players when I was like 20 years old. So it's like I was eight years ago and I know that I'm like way, way, way better than I am than I was then. So I don't think there's like a discrepancy in level," Fritz stated.

Lastly, the Frenchman used a clip of Daniil Medvedev from Melbourne. "That's why I say maybe I would not want to talk about tennis because I don't want to be this guy that finishes his career and then goes like, yeah, these guys, they don't know how to play anymore. When I was there, there was Alcora, Sinner, and these guys now they're just amateurs. So I hope I'm not going to be like this. And if I am, I'm not going to give interviews."

"Exactly. That’s precisely what I meant," Mouratoglou said after showing those videos. He then went on to state his case. "My point is simple: tennis is evolving. The next generation is always stronger than the previous one because the sport itself evolves. It’s not about diminishing what came before — it’s about acknowledging a fact in the history of our sport."

Linked to what Fritz said, Mouratoglou leaned heavily on nostalgia and the fact that people look more fondly on the past. "Some of the negative reactions come from nostalgia, which I understand. And for some people, maybe there’s a bit of bitterness," he voiced. "If the new generation is better, it’s because the previous generation established a standard. The new generation develops based on that standard and tries to push it even further. That’s what always happens."

He believes that tennis will keep getting better and better through the generations. "Tennis is constantly progressing. Throughout the history of our sport, it keeps evolving — and new generations keep building on what came before."