Alexander Zverev came heartbreakingly close to glory in January, but things have gone south since then. After losing the Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner — his third defeat in a Grand Slam title match — the German’s form has hit a serious slump. Now, the world No. 3 has crashed out in the first round of Wimbledon, stunned by world No. 72 Arthur Rinderknech in five rollercoaster sets: 7-6(3), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4. The loss hit hard, and Zverev didn’t hide how much he’s been struggling, on and off the court. Now, Aryna Sabalenka is stepping in with some heartfelt advice.

After the match, a despondent Alexander Zverev revealed he felt “empty” and “alone” and said he was open to seeking help from a therapist. In a vulnerable post-match press conference, Zverev admitted, “As I said, I never felt this way before. I don’t know. It’s difficult to find joy outside the tennis court for me at the moment. It’s not an excuse or anything. I think Arthur deserved to win today. It’s nothing that… It’s something I’ve felt for the past few months.”

His words were raw, real, and showed a side of Zverev many hadn’t seen before. After Aryna Sabalenka’s second-round win over Marie Bouzkova, the Belarusian was asked if she had any guidance for Zverev.

“It’s really important to be open and talk about whatever you’re experiencing. If you’re gonna keep it inside, it’s just gonna destroy you. I think that’s something that’s happening to him. I think he just needs to open up to whoever is close to him, Sabalenka said at her presser.

She continued, “The moment you start to talk about your problems, you start realizing a lot of things. It helps to solve them. I think he just has to be a bit more open. Not only to himself but open to his family, team, so everyone is aware of what’s going on through his mind. That’s the most important.”

She explained how her own support system helps her deal with pressure. The 27-year-old said, “Me, with my team, we always talk a lot. That’s why I don’t need a therapist. I have my team. We talk about whatever. I know they’re not gonna judge me. They’re not gonna blame me. They’re just gonna accept it and we’re gonna work through. This is the best advice I can give to Sascha.”

Aryna Sabalenka knows what it’s like to carry pain off the court. Just last year, she dealt with some tough times.

When Aryna Sabalenka opened up about her ex-boyfriend’s demise

In March 2024, Aryna Sabalenka faced one of the toughest personal challenges of her life after the death of her ex-boyfriend, former ice hockey star Konstantin Koltsov. Koltsov passed away in what police described as “an apparent suicide” in Florida.

Though they had split by the time of his death, Sabalenka chose to continue competing. She entered the Miami Open shortly after but couldn’t make it past the third round, losing to Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina. Her emotions boiled over on court as she smashed her racket three times and skipped her press duties.

Speaking to The Guardian later, the 27-year-old admitted that pushing through might not have been the right call. “Once, I lost my father and tennis helped me to go through that tough loss,” she said. “So at that moment [of Koltsov’s death] I thought I had to just keep going, keep playing, keep doing my thing to separate my personal life from my career life.”

She continued, “But at the end I would say I was struggling a lot health-wise because I didn’t stop. It was really emotional and really stressful, and kind of damaged my mental health at that point. Probably, looking back right now, I would say that a better decision would have been to step back, reset and recharge, and start everything over again.”

Aryna Sabalenka is now in a better place. She’s in a happy relationship with businessman Georgios Frangulis, the founder of Oakberry, and her tennis is back on track. She’ll now face the winner of the clash between Emma Raducanu and Marketa Vondroušová in the third round at Wimbledon. Follow the Championships in real-time with EssentiallySports’ Live Blog updates.