Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker has voiced concern about the future of German tennis due to a lack of emerging talent, and said he was ready to help again.
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev was the only German player from 13 singles players to go beyond the second round at the French Open, where Zverev was due to play a semi-final against Casper Ruud later on Friday.
Becker, 56, said on Eurosport there was "a big hole" behind Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff.
"I am concerned about the 18-to-21-year-olds. I see too few who can assert themselves after coming out of the youth sector," Becker said.
Becker said he was ready to help in a return to the German federation DTB where he was head of men's tennis before having to serve a prison term in Britain for withholding assets in a bankruptcy case.
"The new president Dietloff von Arnim approached me last summer and said he would like to talk to me about whether I could imagine being involved again. I'm still waiting for that conversation,’ Becker said.
Becker said a return was not a question of money: "I did it on a voluntary basis and would do it again today - but I would really like to have a chat."
He suggested that more involvement from former tennis professionals was "not wanted" by the DTB.
The situation is also grim on the women's side where former world number one Angelique Kerber is yet to return to form after maternity leave, and others like former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier suffer regular setbacks.
A new DTB high performance sport strategy is to bring improvement. Former women's coach Barbara Rittner spoke of "a great concept" and that "it is about implementation now" but like Becker said that more efforts were needed.
"You can't develop a player on the drawing board, they are developed on court," Rittner said.
