On Thursday, 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka became the oldest man to reach the third round of the Australian Open since Ken Rosewall in 1978, while 37-year-old Marin Cilic showcased his own longevity by notching his 599th tour-level win, drawing level with Goran Ivanisevic for the most victories by a Croatian man in the Open Era.
And then there was 38-year-old, record 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, cruising into the third round in straight sets on Rod Laver Arena. All three featured in the Australian Open draw as far back as 2007, and their remarkable staying power has emerged as one of the defining talking points of the tournament’s opening week in Melbourne.
On Friday, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was the latest star to weigh in on her admiration for the trio.
“These guys are legends, G.O.A.T.s, especially Novak,” Sabalenka said. “He's been developing his game his whole career. Right now, he's really relevant with young boys. He's playing incredible tennis. I feel like it depends on your physicality, of course, mentality, your approach to tennis. He's very healthy, fit. He's really focused. Yeah, at this age he's playing incredible tennis.
“I feel like there is no age anymore in sport. It depends how you approach everything and if you have a smart team around you. I feel your career can be extended for I don't know how many years.”
At 27, Sabalenka is herself at the peak of her powers. The top seed lifted the trophy in Melbourne in 2023 and 2024 and reached the final again in 2025. But could she still be competing a decade from now?
“I'm not sure,” Sabalenka said. “I cannot say anything because you never know. You don't know what's waiting for you tomorrow. Ideally for me, I would love to, I don't know, maybe have kids at 32 or something. But knowing me, I know that I love to accept tough challenges, so I feel like even after having kid, I would love to challenge myself, like coming back and see if I still have it, just to challenge myself.
“So probably we're going to see me being that grandma on tour trying. Hopefully I'll be pushing these young girls. Let's talk about that in 10 years. That's a long time.”
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