There have been tears when Roger Federer left tennis and his retirement comes at a time when various sporting legends enter their twilight years.
Tennis has additionally seen Serena Williams go, whereas motorsport legend Valentino Rossi has stated his farewells, and extra appear to be on their approach.
Elsewhere, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lewis Hamilton are lastly exhibiting their age after astonishing careers, with an enormous chasm behind them showing in elite sport.
There are understandably some fears that we could by no means have it so good ever once more, however as their replacements start to emerge, there’s even some indicators there could possibly be an enchancment on greatness.
Right here, talkSPORT takes a have a look at who may not simply replicate the all-time greats of sport, however even higher them…
Erling Haaland
Any doubts that Haaland could wrestle with the perceived step as much as the Premier League has been comprehensively blown out of the water by an improve in teammates placing the ball on a plate for him.
Among the many ridiculous Champions League scoring information that see the strione objective from the competitions high 30 in scoring, Haaland’s now setting jaw-dropping feats in England.
With three Premier League hat-tricks to his title in eight video games, that smashes the file of 48 it took Michael Owen, and with him already matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick tally, the query would possibly change from can he replicate the Manchester United legend’s scoring, to can he truly beat it?
Max Verstappen
Wanting again it might come as a shock that it took Verstappen seven seasons to assert his first Formulation 1 world title, however with a automotive lastly matching his expertise, we could possibly be about to witness another era of dominance in motorsport.
It was clear the Dutchman was a champion within the making when he debuted within the sport in 2015 on the age of 17, smashing the earlier youngest file by two years, but it surely was some time earlier than his equipment caught up along with his expertise.
Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles appeared like they might by no means ever be matched, however with Lewis Hamilton reaching the feat, there’s solely Verstappen’s discuss of a comparatively early retirement stopping him from becoming a member of that pantheon.
Carlos Alcaraz
With three of tennis’ ‘Fab 4’ approaching retirement as Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray’s careers come to an in depth, Novak Djokovic may need thought he had all of it to himself, however for the sake of competitors, Alcaraz’s arrival has come at an ideal time.
Nonetheless solely 19, the Spaniard is now the youngest ever male world number one in tennis thank to his win on the US Open in September, and it seems there will probably be a lot extra on the best way with an enviable listing of age information already within the sport.
It’s usually stated that any of Djokovic, Nadal or Federer would have had a clear run at each title on provide with out their rivals taking part in in the identical period, and which may not be a problem for Alcaraz.
Shakur Stevenson
A two-weight world champion and unified champion at simply 25 years outdated, Stevenson looks set for stardom for not less than the subsequent decade if all goes to plan.
Stevenson now has a 19-0 file, and the US has a brand new star fighter, along with his masterclass in April in opposition to Oscar Valdez adopted up with one other unanimous win in opposition to Robson Conceicao.
The one factor that is likely to be standing within the 25-year-old’s approach is countryman Devin Haney, but when both makes it to the highest, they’ll turn into greats in America, and worldwide.
Iga Swiatek
A part of what made Serena Williams not simply certainly one of tennis’ all-time greats however sports activities was her potential to swat apart any new potential nice that attempted to threaten her, which makes it a disgrace her profession didn’t cross over with Swiatek.
The 21-year-old Pole looks well set to take over Williams’ record because the undisputed one to beat on the high of ladies’s tennis.
With three Grand Slams to her title already and world no.1 standing, Swiatek has the twenty first century file for consecutive wins with 37, and is now harnessing the Haaland-level inevitability that makes her a daunting prospect.
