Zverev slammed for 'making excuses' after comment about Alcaraz and Sinner

Wednesday, 08 October 2025 at 17:00

byErik Virostko

Alexander Zverev has faced plenty of criticism for his comments about the tournament organizers favoring Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Zverev is considered by many pundits and analysts to be one of the best tennis players never to have won a Grand Slam title. He is a 24-time titlist, including two ATP Finals titles, an Olympic gold medal, and seven ATP Masters 1000 titles.

He is also a three-time Grand Slam finalist and has reached six other major semi-finals. Zverev is also a former ATP world No. 2 player. However, he has never managed to make that one big step in his tennis career to either reach the world No. 1 rank or win a Grand Slam title.

For years, many former players have criticized the German player for his passive approach on key points. That's one of the reasons why he has struggled to take that next step. But Zverev also sees different reasons.

Zverev is one of the players criticizing the balls used at many ATP Tour events, and now he has also slammed the courts. According to the German player, the courts are currently being made slower to favor Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, as, in his opinion, they want to see the two players compete in as many finals as possible.

Of course, any tournament director wants to see Alcaraz and Sinner play against each other at their event, that's likely true, but the questionable part of Zverev's statement is whether the way to achieve this is by slowing down the courts.

Former player Rennae Stubbs, who also coached Serena Williams in her retirement event, discussed this during the most recent episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.

Stubbs explained that Sinner and Alcaraz are two of the most adaptable players on the ATP Tour, and their records at each surface prove it. Sinner won the Wimbledon Championships this year, while Alcaraz triumphed at the Roland Garros.

In fact, Alcaraz has won 31 of his last 33 matches played on grass courts, which is the fastest surface. Sinner has also been incredibly successful on grass, winning 22 of his last 25 matches on the surface.

"Is Zverev joking? If he thinks they are doing it to help Carlos and Jannik, here is a good example. It’s like these guys win on every surface. Put them indoors on a slow court, on an ice rink, and they are going to win. Because they are going to adapt. You came in on the wrong approach shots, and your forehand went south when it mattered. Stop making excuses!"

According to Stubbs, Zverev was making excuses with his comment. At the same time, it's clear that the German player is not happy with his current position and wants to finally take that one step to etch his name into tennis history. His most recent attempt to improve included working with Toni Nadal and Rafael Nadal.