Back in February, commenting on Alexander Zverev, Boris Becker said, “I just wanted to give him a bit of my wealth of experience.” At that time, Zverev, failed to seize Jannik Sinner’s absence and went titleless in his first seven tournaments of 2025. Six times he entered as top seed, six times he fell short. His lone spark came in Munich, defeating Ben Shelton. Then came Shanghai, a brutal collapse that deepened doubt. And as Becker’s words turned sharper now, Zverev fired back with pride and fury, standing tall, refusing to bend to judgment.

The tension between Alexander Zverev and Boris Becker has reached a boiling point. When asked to respond to Becker’s remarks in an interview with Bild, Zverev didn’t hold back. “I think he’s relatively unconcerned about me, to be honest. I think he’s looking for a bit of attention, and he gets it through me. Unfortunately, that’s the case. But I don’t care anymore.” It was a sharp, unfiltered retort.

As Zverev looks to turn the page, his focus now shifts to the upcoming Vienna Open and Paris Masters, tournaments he holds close to his heart. The German star remains optimistic despite the storm around him. “Everything will work out and I’m full of confidence that I’ll find my form again and play good tennis again. And now there are tournaments that I really like indoors, Vienna and Paris, where I won last year. I think I can play good tennis there again.” His words carried the tone of a man trying to reclaim rhythm, trying to silence the noise with action.

But the noise hasn’t been kind. 6x Grand Slam champion Boris Becker, recently unleashed a flurry of criticism over Zverev’s form. “World class looks different. I really thought he was knocking on the door of (Jannik) Sinner and (Carlos) Alcaraz,” Becker said on a podcast with former WTA player Andrea Petkovic. 

Becker didn’t stop there. He questioned Zverev’s camp and his reluctance to embrace change. “Nothing new is happening in his box either. There’s his father, there’s his brother – the same faces as always,” Becker complained. The 57-year-old also hinted that Zverev might be deflecting from his struggles. “I don’t like any of that. He needs to focus on himself. At the moment, he’s taking two steps back,” he said, his tone laced with both concern and impatience.

“He’s a problem child right now. I really get a bit of a headache when I think about Sascha Zverev. He needs to turn things around again for the last two or three tournaments of the year,” Becker added later.

Recent results haven’t helped Zverev’s defense. A quarterfinal exit in Beijing, an early stumble in Shanghai, and a crushing 59-minute defeat to Taylor Fritz at the Six Kings Slam have left fans questioning his form. The right shoulder injury he battled in that match only deepened the concerns. 

Now, as the ATP Finals loom large, the stakes are towering. Vienna and Paris will decide not just Zverev’s momentum, but his response to a legend’s sting. The next swing of his racket might well define his season, and perhaps, his pride.

Alexander Zverev breaks silence on poor form

A 47–22 record would satisfy most players, yet for Alexander Zverev, it feels hollow. The German star, still holding firm inside the ATP Top 5, has seen his season unfold in frustrating shades of gray. The numbers don’t tell the story of missed chances, broken confidence, and the weight of expectation that refuses to ease.

Zverev’s struggles began early and never quite faded. Winless in all three of his Grand Slam finals, his most recent heartbreak came at the Australian Open, where Jannik Sinner snatched victory from his grasp. The pain deepened in Paris, where Novak Djokovic stopped him in the quarterfinals, leaving Zverev to wrestle with ghosts of consistency.

Then came Shanghai, a tournament that brought more wounds than hope. Losing to Arthur Rinderknech in the R32, the German found himself speechless. The outcry from fans followed swiftly, frustrated by yet another early exit and his pointed remarks about the court’s speed. But for Zverev, the battle runs deeper than surface talk, it’s a war within.

Speaking after the match, Zverev let the truth spill out. “My season has been terrible. I have no confidence in myself and I don’t believe in my shots. I’m playing awful tennis in every aspect,” he confessed. “Let’s see if this year I’ll manage to be fully healthy again. It’s really tough, the last time I played a tournament without pain was the Australian Open.”

Yet even in that darkness, a flicker of faith arrived from afar. Aussie firebrand Nick Kyrgios showed his support for Zverev, backing him to break his Grand Slam curse in 2026.

Now, as Zverev stands ready for the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, his redemption arc waits to be written. When he steps on court against British ace Jacob Fearnley, the question won’t just be about his form, it’ll be about his fight.