The unofficial “most likeable players” ranking: Querrey, Isner, Sock and Johnson pick the players they’d love to hang out with - Paire, Tsonga, Monaco and Alcaraz highlighted by former American stars

Former ATP players Sam Querrey, John Isner, Jack Sock and Steve Johnson took a nostalgic detour on the latest episode of the Nothing Major podcast, opening up about the players they wish they’d been real friends with during their careers. Though they all interacted casually on tour — “you’d say hi, you’d practice,” as Querrey put it — they admitted that some players remained at a friendly distance. This new segment, described jokingly as another “Sam Querrey brainchild,” quickly turned into a humorous and revealing look at the personalities they admired most.

The first name that sparked excitement was Benoît Paire. John Isner didn’t hesitate: “I have a couple, so I’ll name one: Benoît Paire.” He explained that while they were always friendly, it never extended beyond tournaments: “Always had great rapport at the tournaments… but never really hung out with him outside of a tournament. I’d like to go to dinner with him, wearing a scarf all year round.” Sock immediately jumped in: “Yeah, I’m with you on that one, John. One hundred percent,” even revealing he had played “FIFA many times outside of events with Benoît.”

Jack Sock then turned to a legendary character: former world No. 1 Marat Safin. “I was going to go with Safin, just to kind of experience what the Safin life was like,” he said. He admitted he wouldn’t want to join in all the activities the Russian was famous for, joking, “I don’t know if I’d want to be super involved in all of those, but just to hear what he says and the way he goes about things… dinner would be funny.” Meanwhile, Steve Johnson opted for former top-10 Juan “Pico” Mónaco, saying he’d be “so much fun to go out with, have dinner with. High energy, always has a good time.” Isner confirmed it: “I’ve gone to dinner, hung out with Pico plenty of times. I’ve converted him — he’s a massive Carolina Panthers fan because of me.”

Querrey wrapped up the retired-player section with a name everyone expected: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. “Just so cool. Friendly guy,” he said, recalling their brief exchanges at Roland-Garros: “Always a ‘hi’, but… I would’ve loved to strengthen that friendship a little more. Super sweetheart of a guy.”

When the group switched to active players, Querrey surprised the others by picking Tomás Etcheverry. “He’s smooth. Have you ever said hi to him? Super smooth,” he said, adding that Etcheverry “should’ve made the Hawkeye draw… he’s got the it factor.” Querrey even joked that maybe the Argentine would hear the episode: “Maybe he listens to the pod and sparks a friendship. Slide in the DMs.”

Jack Sock kept his choice simple: Carlos Alcaraz — but because of golf. “I’d want to just go golf with him… he’s addicted to it.” Querrey then revealed he feels closer to Alcaraz than people might think thanks to his media role: “I feel like I’m getting kind of close with Alcaraz, based on all the time spent on the desk. I’m not far off from getting an invite out to dinner with the Alcaraz crew.” He even set a personal goal: “2026 goals — have one dinner with Carlos Alcaraz. Outside a tennis venue.”

Steve Johnson took a more niche path, confessing he’d always been jealous watching the Spanish players — especially Rafael Nadal and Marc López — play their mysterious board game at Roland-Garros. “I really wanted to learn it and sit at that table,” he said. “No idea how it works, but it’d be a fun hang.” Yet he eventually returned to the same wish as the others: “Ultimately I’d like to play golf with Carlos.”

Querrey added another name before finishing the segment: “Give me Cobolli — new guy. Flavio Cobolli seems cool.” The group then turned to the social tension players sometimes feel when wanting to befriend someone. Querrey admitted: “There were times I remember thinking, ‘Oh man, I’d love to…’ I was always a little jealous — like Stevie and Casper Ruud. You guys are friends, you golf. I’ve always been a little jealous of that.”

Medvedev closed the list with a unanimous honorable mention. “Honorable mention Medvedev,” Jack said, with both Isner and Querrey immediately agreeing. Querrey ended with a hopeful line: “Who knows? Maybe all the players we mentioned listen to the pod… maybe they’ll reach out.”