Jimmy Connors picks Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime, Rune and Sinner as next Federer, Djokovic, Nadal

The likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner will be the next big thing in tennis once the era of the big three ends according to Jimmy Connors.

When discussing the generational transition that is taking place in tennis in real time, Connors singled out a few players he believes will succeed the big three after they all retire. Some of that has already occurred, as evidenced by Alcaraz's grand slam victory this year and the victories of players like Rune and Auger-Aliassime over Djokovic.

"Now, we are seeing a replacement for the three that have dominated the last 20 years: Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. These guys are stepping up. But stepping up for Paris is one thing, stepping up in Australia, Paris [French Open], Wimbledon, US Open, that's another thing" explained Connors in his podcast Advantage Connors.

"It's good to see these young kids and how they are starting because nobody was stepping up. We were waiting for it, now it has started to happen. You know what the fun is gonna be: Alcaraz, Sinner, Felix, Rune all playing each other. That's the next Federer, Nadal and Djokovic," concluded Connors.

Next year will be one where that hypothesis will be thoroughly tested as the younger generations are expected to take another step forward.