“I’ve never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do. It’s not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well.” Alexander Zverev described his state of mind after losing in the opening round of Wimbledon 2025. The defeat came at the hands of Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, a player ranked No. 72 at the time and without a top-10 win in over a year. Over four hours and forty minutes, Zverev failed to convert any of his 9 break-point chances and struggled with consistency throughout a tense five-set battle. It was his earliest Grand Slam exit since Wimbledon 2019, but it extended a pattern of missed chances on the sport’s biggest stages—ones he was once expected to dominate.

Zverev was once considered the frontrunner to lead the next generation after Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. He won his first Masters 1000 title at age 20, reached World No. 3 before turning 22, and defeated both Djokovic and Federer en route to winning the 2018 ATP Finals. Between 2017 and 2021, he spent more weeks inside the ATP Top 5 than any other player under 25. But despite his consistent rankings, he has yet to convert that early potential into a Grand Slam title. He has reached three Slam finals—the 2020 US Open, where he lost to Dominic Thiem after leading by two sets; the 2024 French Open, where he fell to Carlos Alcaraz; and the 2025 Australian Open, where Jannik Sinner beat him in five sets.

In contrast, Alcaraz and Sinner—both younger—have already claimed major titles and overtaken him in the public conversation around tennis’s future. Still, Zverev isn’t stepping back. In a recent interview with Tennis365, he hinted at his intent to disrupt that narrative.

“At the moment, Carlos is kind of the star boy now. He just brings great energy to the court and along with Jannik, they are the players to beat. I just hope to spoil their party a little bit and I think I can do that.” Indicating that things may be going well in practice, to top that off, he also added a bit of a…backhanded compliment for Alcaraz.

“Carlos is a great guy,” Zverev said of the current world No. 2. “He is fun to be around and he always has a smile on his face. If he can avoid any controversies, he is going to be very, very loved by tennis fans.” The caveat about controversies seems pointed, especially since Alcaraz and those close to him have openly acknowledged his penchant for partying. In the Netflix documentary Carlos Alcaraz: My Way, he didn’t hold back: “In Ibiza, I’m not going to lie to you. It’s pretty much all about partying and going out. I basically went there to reventar … to go out”. He even admitted taking a three-day bender post‑French Open 2023—against his team’s advice—and then went on to win Queen’s and Wimbledon. So yes, there’s substance behind Zverev’s pointed remark. But while Zverev critiques Alcaraz’s lifestyle, he isn’t standing still himself. 

Alexander Zverev’s plans for the future and his tennis comeback

It looks like that swift Wimbledon exit was the shock Zverev needed to get back into shape, because ever since then he’s been training at the Rafael Nadal Academy, under none other than Toni Nadal, Rafa’s very own uncle and coach, who also has some thoughts on the subject of this World No. 3 who’s never won a Grand Slam. 

“If he [Zverev] wants to win and have chances to win a Grand Slam, he needs to change a little his mentality. He can win but to win is a thing about mentality.” Toni Nadal said, indicating that the coaching Zverev is receiving at the Academy is as much mental as it is physical, and it seems to be working, because Zverev has some big plans for the future.

Alexander Zverev seems to be looking forward to taking on that Grand Slam challenge starting with this year’s US open in August. From there, he’ll be back with Team Europe for the Laver Cup, which is set to take place in San Francisco in mid-September. “Laver Cup was great to be a part of and it is always a massive team effort, for sure,” Zverev said of his previous experience playing the tournament. “There are a lot of things that go into deciding which team comes out on top,” he added. This year, French tennis star Yannick Noah will captain Team Europe, taking over from the legendary Bjorn Borg.