After a bright start to the 2025 season, things have fallen out of place for Alexander Zverev of late. From the highs of reaching his first Australian Open final earlier this year to losing in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships, he has seen it all. In an unfortunate set of events, what took the cake was a disastrous Laver Cup campaign, where he lost both his matches tamely in straight sets. What went wrong? Hear it from the German star himself.

“I gave my best. I was close to winning the second set, then the tiebreak, with the team at my back,” Zverev said during the post-match presentation. “I definitely had chances, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out. After the US Open, I didn’t play for two weeks. I didn’t do anything for two weeks. I had two injections. So far, it’s holding up. Yes, I hope it continues to go well.”

Zverev had first mentioned battling a back problem ahead of the US Open, revealing how it bothered him at Cincinnati in the loss against Carlos Alcaraz The problems resurfaced at the Flushing Meadows again, becoming a major factor in his third-round 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 5-7, 6-7 (4-7) loss against Felix Auger-Aliassime. Evidently, the issues have greatly affected his ability to serve and play his natural brand of aggressive tennis.

“I don’t know exactly what was wrong with me,” the Olympic gold medal winner had said in late August. “I had a blood test done, which showed my levels were okay. I think I took too many painkillers for my back pain in the past few weeks, and that made me sick.”

On Sunday, too, the 28-year-old struggled against Taylor Fritz at the Chase Center. The US star started piling pressure from the very beginning, taking the first set. Though Zverev tried to pull off a late comeback in the second set, his opponent didn’t falter under pressure, winning the match 6-3, 7-6 (4) and giving Team World their third win in the eight tournaments (2022, 2023). As things stand, Fritz currently leads the H2H tally with 9 wins (against 5 losses), with the Laver Cup match being his sixth straight victory over the German.

“We’re going to have a fun night,” the World No. 5 revealed before the trophy ceremony. “Definitely popping some champagne in the locker room in a few minutes.”

Zverev, on the other hand, also acknowledged his opponent in the press conference, saying, “Taylor has a huge game. When he’s in form, he’s really in form. He can hurt anyone. He can compete with anyone.”

Notably, this comes after the star had suffered his first heartbreak of the tournament on Saturday afternoon. Losing 6-1, 6-4 to Alex De Minaur, the one hour and 29-minute clinic saw an aggressive De Minaur pile pressure early on just like his teammate. In fact, the Australian even took a page out of Roger Federer’s playbook.

“I don’t want to say too much,” De Minaur said, talking about the iconic backhand slice. “But he wrote the playbook, I just read it.”

As for Zverev, he’s slowly but surely making his way back.

Alexander Zverev hopes to come back stronger

After going down with an injury at the US Open, Zverev didn’t play in any event before the Laver Cup. Instead, he focused on rejuvenating himself and regaining his full fitness. However, that didn’t happen as his back continued to cause trouble right throughout the Laver Cup.

“It’s been like this last year here. Last year I think I said it after I lost here, I just have absolutely no feeling in any shots and this year has been the same,” he revealed. “The conditions, it’s a hard court, so it doesn’t really change that much. The balls are very different, but it’s not really an excuse. I have to do better next year. I have to find something. The last two years I would say I didn’t play good tennis here.” But aside from his physical ailments, Zverev has also been battling mental demons, after admitting he felt empty following his opening round loss to Arthur Rinderknech at Wimbledon.

“I’ve sought professional help, and I’m still working with them. And I’ll probably continue to do so for quite some time,” revealed Zverev at Flushing Meadows. “I have to rediscover myself and understand which people bring me joy, what I enjoy, and what motivates me. At 28, that’s my number one priority.” Zverev’s next assignment will be the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters next week. It remains to be seen if Zverev can regain his full fitness before the tournament. Can the German star come back strongly in the upcoming tournaments? Let us know your views in the comments below.