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How Many Languages Can Alexander Zverev Speak? Here’s What We Know of His Russian Heritage

Published 01/24/2024, 12:06 AM EST

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via Reuters

Beyond the tennis court, Alexander Zverev serves up a linguistic ace! Although his tennis racket speaks louder than any language, the 26-year-old, on the other hand, has made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. But do you know that there is an extraordinary repertoire of languages he commands, revealing a skill set that transcends the boundaries of the game?

As someone who has a diversified background, Zverev is also diversified in the way he speaks. Let’s take a look at how many languages the German tennis player can speak and how he is quite fluent in his day-to-day life.

Alexander Zverev’s multilingual talents 

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Zverev has created a name for himself in the tennis world by winning a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and other ATP titles. But he is not only talented on the court, but he is also quite linguistic when it comes to his language-speaking talents. If you are a tennis fan, you might be aware of the fact that he plays for Germany.

via Reuters

So, German is the language he knows best because he has completed his education there and spent most of his time in the country. But do you know that his parents are not from Germany; they are from Russia and have never forgotten their Russian roots? Moreover, this is another language on his list after Germany; he can also speak Russian.

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Subsequently, every tennis player is usually seen communicating and speaking in English. In the same way, the third language that he can speak is English. To be a bit clear, the 26-year-old is fluent in three languages: German, English, and Russian. His parents, Irina Zvereva and Alexander Mikhailovich Zverev were both tennis coaches who split the time between Germany and the US, where he picked up English.

Apart from that, his parents were the highest-ranked professional tennis players in the Soviet Union. After their retirement, both of them became tennis coaches, but their Russian backgrounds did come with Zverev and his brother, as they both are quite fluent in Russian.

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Russian descent Alexander Zverev on being a German player 

A few years back, in an interview for the German newspaper Bild, the former world number 2 ranked tennis player talked about how he made his own decision to play for Germany rather than any other country. Along with that, he also dwelled on how he has some Russian in him, but his facts are quite clear.

He said, “I won’t play for any other country. I was born and raised in Germany; I went to school there, and I have German friends. Yes, I have Russian origins, and there’s also something Russian about me. The fact that you don’t give up, that you don’t stop fighting, that’s part of being Russian.” 

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Even after acing languages off the court and doing great on the court, Zverev has always made his stand on and off the court quite clear. Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on his multilingual talents? Do share your views in the comment section below.

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Written by:

Pratishtha Prakash

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Watching the biggest sports events have been a part of my life right from my early childhood. Although I have grown up watching a variety of sports, including tennis, cricket, and esports, I have a special connection to tennis. Thus, when it came to building a career in sports journalism, I focused on the racket sport.
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Edited by:

Ananya Giri