Boris Becker questions Novak Djokovic's omission in 'best tennis player ever' discussion

Boris Becker recently questioned the absence of Novak Djokovic in a discussion about the 'best tennis player ever'. Becker, the German tennis legend, previously shared an incredibly successful collaboration with Djokovic, guiding the Serb to six of his 24 Major titles.

On Tuesday, December 9, an X (formerly Twitter) account asked tennis fans on the platform who the best tennis player ever is and provided six options to pick from, which included Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, John McEnroe and Andy Roddick, but bizarrely, not Novak Djokovic, despite the Serb having achieved more than each of the names mentioned.

Baffled by the omission, former No. 1 and six-time Slam winner Boris Becker reacted to the post, wondering where why its creator failed to include his former pupil in the list of options. The German asked:

"What about Djokovic?!"

The Serb roped in Becker as his coach in December 2013 and clinched six Major titles under the German's tutelage until their split in December three years later. Their time together also saw the Serb hold all four Slam titles at the same time following his triumph at the 2016 French Open.

Following their decision to go their separate ways, Becker told Sky Sports:

"If somebody would have told us three years ago we are going to win six Grand Slams together, regain the number one spot in the world and just be the most dominant player, I would have signed up for that."

"If Novak Djokovic plays another year or two, he will become..." - Boris Becker's bold claim about Serb's popularity

Novak Djokovic (left) and Boris Becker (right) at the 2025 Davis Cup Finals (Source: Getty)

Earlier this year, Boris Becker appeared as a guest on the High Performance podcast. Here, the German boldly claimed that if the legendary Serb remains active over the next couple of years, he will go on to surpass the popularity of his fiercest former rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

"He has earned the respect he has always deserved. If he plays for another year or two, he will become the most popular tennis player of all time, because the longer he is on the court, the more people will realize what Novak is really like," Becker said.

On the tennis front, the Serb clinched his 101st career singles title at the maiden Hellenic Championship in Athens, Greece, in November and subsequently decided to withdraw from the year-end ATP Finals.