Alexander Zverev has left the hamster wheel – but not voluntarily. While the top German player is recovering from pneumonia and will inevitably have to take it easy for a few days, the tennis machine is running non-stop. From Berlin, the top stars of the scene went seamlessly to Beijing, where the discussion about Carlos Alcaraz’s workload was further fuelled.
“Many players” would agree with him in his critical statements, “that we have to do something about it,” stressed the Spanish champion of Paris and Wimbledon, thus reiterating his warning words from the Laver Cup.
Tennis stars criticize tournament schedule
In the German capital, the 21-year-old had expressed his fear that the tight tournament schedule would “kill” the players. Zverev had also agreed and moaned that the season was “unnecessarily long”.
The physical and mental stress level is indeed high given the tight schedule from the end of December to the end of November, but the top protagonists still have a certain influence on their workload.
Of course, the season is now “quite long,” said the Italian world number one Jannik Sinner, but then gave the discourse a new tone with his further words: “We players can still choose what we play and what we don’t.” In fact, many observers are wondering why the top players still put show events in their calendars despite the high level of effort and the increasingly loud complaints.
Zverev’s eyes are set on Turin
Zverev, weakened by fever and cough, last played at the Laver Cup before moving to Beijing. Alcaraz was there too and, in addition to the tour program, will also make a stop at the “Six Kings Slam” in Saudi Arabia in October. The entry fee is a whopping 1.5 million US dollars, and the winner will receive an insane six million. The Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) series by star coach Patrick Mouratoglou also always manages to attract top ten players to events.
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Zverev is currently taking a step back, his next possible tournament would be the Masters in Shanghai starting on October 2nd. This will be followed by the ATP event in Vienna and another Masters in Paris, before the focus turns to the ATP Finals in Turin starting on November 10th. It is still unclear whether the world number two will then compete in the Davis Cup finals in Malaga, or whether he will then go on holiday. (sid/mg)
