The first-ever ATP number one ranked player has noticed a big change in tennis recently

Follow us on Google Discover

The 2025 ATP season continues as the stars of men’s tennis head to Florida for the Miami Open.

Jannik Sinner and Jack Draper have won the two biggest titles of the year so far, coming out on top in Melbourne and at Indian Wells.

The former hasn’t been seen on the court since, as Sinner serves his three-month ban from tennis.

Several players ranked below Sinner have failed to step up in his absence, as world number two Alexander Zverev and number four Taylor Fritz have combined for just eight wins since.

Discussion around the lack of ‘star power’ on the ATP Tour continues as one tennis legend now shares his thoughts on how the sport has changed over recent years.

Ilie Nastase says there are ‘only three or four’ champions on the ATP Tour in 2025

Speaking on the ATP Tour’s YouTube channel, former world number one Ilie Nastase gave his honest opinion on the current state of men’s tennis.

“Now there are only three or four [champions],” he said.

“In my time there were six or seven Australians, the Americans [Stan] Smith and [Arthur] Ashe and then the Europeans, you know Bjorn [Borg] came in 1975.

“So it was good competition for me and that’s why I became so good you know, because of them.”

In the past 15 years, just ten players have won Major titles, whereas 16 ATP stars won Grand Slams during the 1970s alone.

World number five Novak Djokovic has won 23 of his 24 Grand Slam titles in the past 15 years, establishing his dominance over the rest of the ATP Tour.

Romania’s Nastase was one of the lucky 16 to achieve Major success in the ’70s, picking up the US Open in 1972 and the French Open in 1973.

Of the ten players to win Majors since 2010, just four remain in the world’s top ten, as the number of ‘champions’ continues to decline.

• Novak Djokovic (23) – ATP number five
• Rafael Nadal (16) – Retired
• Roger Federer (5) – Retired
• Carlos Alcaraz (4) – ATP number three
• Andy Murray (3) – Retired
• Jannik Sinner (3) – ATP number one
• Stan Wawrinka (3) – ATP number 168
• Daniil Medvedev (1) – ATP number eight
• Dominic Thiem (1) – Retired
• Marin Cilic (1) – ATP number 143

It remains to be seen if any other players can add their names to the list in 2025 when tennis heads to Paris for the French Open in May.

Ilie Nastase is ‘glad’ to hold impressive record at the ATP Finals

78-year-old Nastase became the first ever ATP world number one in 1973 when the rankings were released in August.

He held the top spot for 40 weeks before he was surpassed by one of his many Australian rivals, John Newcombe.

Nastase will forever be the first world number one but may be better remembered for his excellence at the ATP Finals.

The two-time Grand Slam champion now reflects on his performances at the tournament during the early 1970s.

“My best tennis I played [was] during the tournament at the end of the year,” said Nastase.

“I played five finals in a row, if I won against [Guillermo] Vilas which I was ahead two sets to one in Australia, I played in Melbourne, I would’ve won five Masters in a row, nobody [has] won five in a row.

• 1971 ATP Finals – Ilie Nastase won (Round Robin tournament)
• 1972 ATP Finals – Ilie Nastase beat Stan Smith, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3
• 1973 ATP Finals – Ilie Nastase beat Tom Okker, 6-3, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
• 1974 ATP Finals – Ilie Nastase lost to Guillermo Vilas, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6
• 1975 ATP Finals – Ilie Nastase beat Bjorn Borg, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1

“I’m glad that I’m the one to win four in a row and one final.”

To this day, Nastase holds the record for the best win % at the event, winning 88% of his matches at the ATP Finals (22-3).

His efforts have been well recognized by the tour, as four of the eight ATP Finals participants compete in the ‘Ilie Nastase Group’ each year.

The 2025 ATP Finals are set to begin on November 9, in Turin, Italy.