How do we become what we want to be? Well, that’s exactly what a role model shows us exactly! When a successful person shares one’s race, gender, disability, or any other diversity trait, one often tends to get inspired by their journey. We have seen how several tennis stars spoke about their role models and how they have pushed them to become who they are today. Recently, Swedish former world number one Mats Wilander shared his thoughts on two American tennis legends who he believes showed the path to American tennis.

The 59-year-old tennis legend hailed John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors as true “role models” in American tennis. During Andy Zodin’s ‘KickServeRadio.com’ podcast, Wilander added, “John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, in many ways, were role models, but maybe more so they brought the interest up because of the way they were on the court.” Both McEnroe and Connors are former world number one. However, Jimmy Connors won 8 Grand Slam titles in his career, compared to John McEnroe’s 7.

Wilander further went on to add, “But if you look at the way they played, there was no Americans that did well that played like John McEnroe, or played like Jimmy Connors. I mean, those guys, they didn’t do well if you played like them because it was so original to play like them.” While American women’s tennis has plenty of role models to look at, men’s tennis has struggled to find a major title winner since Andy Roddick in 2003. What does the term “role model” mean to the new generation of American tennis players, and who do they look up to?

Well, for Taylor Fritz, his tennis role models have always been Pete Sampras and Juan Martín del Potro. For Coco Gauff it has mainly been Serena Williams, “In Serena Williams, I watched someone dominate women’s tennis in a way no one else ever had. More importantly, I saw someone who looked like me and helped me believe I could achieve as I followed my own unique path.” She is the one who made her believe in her own abilities. However, for Frances Tiafoe, it’s a bit different!

He wants to be a role model for his community. Speaking more on that, he revealed, “I want to be known as a guy who was caring for the fans, a guy who wants to really build an unbelievable legacy. My goal is to help more black people play tennis ultimately, and just to be a good role model.” This shows how people can draw inspiration from different perspectives.

However, who, according to Mats Wilander, are the “biggest role models” in this generation other than John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors?

Wilander names three WTA stars as the “biggest role models” for the next generation

In 2022, during an interview with Eurosport, the seven-time Grand Slam title winner, Mats Wilander said, “I think the biggest role models over the years in this generation is Serena, Venus Williams and then you get Maria Sharapova.”

He further narrowed it down to one name out of the three tennis superstars. Wilander picked the  5-time Grand Slam winner as probably the biggest role model of all. “I think Maria Sharapova is the most probably the biggest role model for younger players because a lot of players have taken to a lot of things that she used to do which was turn around her fiddle with her strings and then she’d turn around and then she’d be back in action again.”

Who according to you is the biggest role model in the tennis world? Let us know in the comment section below!