{"id":1947896,"date":"2026-05-21T19:00:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1947896"},"modified":"2026-05-21T19:00:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:00:57","slug":"bjorn-borg-and-john-mcenroe-backed-to-be-2026s-best-athletes-with-superhuman-carlos-alcaraz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1947896","title":{"rendered":"Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe backed to be 2026&#8217;s &#8216;best athletes&#8217; with &#8216;superhuman&#8217; Carlos Alcaraz"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe backed to be 2026\u2019s \u2018best athletes\u2019 with \u2018superhuman\u2019 Carlos Alcaraz<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/tennis365\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Tennis365                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"21 May 2026 8:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"21 May 2026 8:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1779390057\"><br \/>\n                            21 May 2026 8:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" 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              <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe backed to be 2026\u2019s \u2018best athletes\u2019 with \u2018superhuman\u2019 Carlos Alcaraz\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ps-aws.com\/c?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F12%2FAlcaraz-Sinner-McEnroe-Borg-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"L-R: Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been compared to Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>Patrick McEnroe believes some tennis legends from yesteryear would be the sport\u2019s \u201cbest athletes\u201d if they grew up in the era of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.<\/p>\n<p>For more than a decade now, tennis fans have debated about who is the greatest player of all time (GOAT). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/roger-federer\">Roger Federer<\/a> sat atop the pile for many years, before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/rafael-nadal\">Rafael Nadal<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/novak-djokovic\">Novak Djokovic<\/a> overtook him in the slam count.<\/p>\n<p>In the past, though, not all the top athletes attended all four Grand Slams, with the likes of Bjorn Borg and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/john-mcenroe\">John McEnroe<\/a> \u2013 who won 18 majors between them \u2013 rarely competing at the less-heralded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/australian-open\">Australian Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, wooden rackets have been replaced by graphite, carbon fibre, or composite ones, and string technology has changed from gut to polyester and synthetic.<\/p>\n<p>Players have gotten bigger, stronger, and more professional. The balls have changed, the courts have, generally, slowed down from the 1990s, and baseline tennis has replaced the serve and volley era.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>More Tennis News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/rafael-nadal-responds-when-asked-if-anyone-can-break-his-french-open-record\">Rafael Nadal responds when asked if anyone can win more French Open titles than him<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/mens-french-open-draw-djokovic-fonseca-hurdle-sinner-zverev-headline-draw\">French Open men\u2019s draw: Djokovic dealt early hurdles, as Sinner &amp; Zverev lead way<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>for tennis coverage you can trust<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, if the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/bjorn-borg\">Borg<\/a> and McEnroe grew up with the same sports science, racket technology, and professionalism, Patrick McEnroe believes they would be right at the top of men\u2019s tennis today.<\/p>\n<p>He said on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EHS-E12GcFw\" target=\"_blank\">The Megyn Kelly Show<\/a>, \u201cThat\u2019s actually gone back to where now the best players in tennis now are the ones that are the best athletes that can move the best that can retrieve balls, obviously play offence, so the game is essentially the same, but it\u2019s sped up exponentially.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you watch my brother [John McEnroe] playing Borg from the US Open (in the 1980s), no offence, it looks like it\u2019s in slow motion, and they were using wooden rackets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were both the best athletes, the best players of their day. I believe they would still be the best athletes if they grew up today, because they just have the skill. And then you learn to use the equipment that you\u2019re given.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McEnroe added that the newer rackets and string technology has changed the nature of the game in the last 15 years or so.<\/p>\n<p>And as the sport gets more physical and requires greater power, you are seeing more and more athletic tennis players.<\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201cThat means that the players have to be able to move quicker to get to the ball every point consistently. So you\u2019re seeing better and better athletes play the game, using the technology that\u2019s available to them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo me, it\u2019s much more exciting to watch. I mean, Carlos Alcaraz. What he\u2019s doing on a tennis court, he\u2019s coming up with shots that we used to think weren\u2019t even possible. It\u2019s superhuman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many view Borg as one of the game\u2019s quickest-ever players, while McEnroe is regarded as among the most talented to ever play this sport. Whether the 2026 versions of these two would be at the top of the game today is a good debate to have.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WHAT NEXT? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/carlos-alcaraz-and-jannik-sinner-share-what-they-hate-the-most-about-tennis\">Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner reveal what they hate the most about tennis<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe backed to be 2026\u2019s \u2018best athletes\u2019 with \u2018superhuman\u2019 Carlos Alcaraz Tennis365 21 May 2026 8:00 PM Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been compared to Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Patrick McEnroe believes some tennis legends from yesteryear would be the sport\u2019s \u201cbest athletes\u201d if they grew up in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1947896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1947896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947896\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1947896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1947896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1947896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}