Alexander Zverev can drop out of the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time since 2015.
The 26-year-old German established himself as one of the most consistent player on the ATP Tour over the years. Last year, he got very close to becoming the World No. 1, but his dreams were dashed by a career-changing injury.
Zverev injured himself during the semifinal match at the 2022 Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal, forcing him to miss the rest of the last year's season. Because of that, he couldn't add any more points to his total in 2022, and he started the 2023 season slowly, trying to rebuild his form.
Because of that, the German wasn't able to defend many points that he earned during the sensational start of the last season, and that caused him to slowly start dropping in the ATP Rankings.
Recently, he dropped out of the Top 20 for the first time in six years, and Zverev is also in danger of losing the German No. 1 spot for the first time in seven years. All these firsts just show how consistent he was over the years and that there's a very high chance that he will return to where he once was.
But Zverev has to face the reality and that is the fact that if he can't win enough matches over the next month, he may be out of the Top 100, something that may complicate his life but not too much.
The German is one of the most popular players on the ATP Tour and he won 19 ATP-level titles. Thanks to that, he will be surely welcomed with open arms by tournament directors, who will gladly give him a wild card to compete and climb his way up.
For now, Zverev will need to focus on the 2023 Italian Open in Rome, as well as the 2023 Roland Garros, tournaments where he defends semifinal appearances from the 2022 season.