Alexander Zverev reveals if he still has ‘burning desire’ to win Grand Slam after Wimbledon pain
Alexander Zverev addressed whether he still has the desire to win a Grand Slam title after being upset in the opening round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
The world No 3 was stunned 7-6(3), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4 by world No 72 Arthur Rinderknech on Centre Court at the All England Club.
It was Zverev‘s earliest defeat at a Grand Slam since he lost in the first round of Wimbledon in 2019 to Jiri Vesely.
Following his disappointing exit, a despondent Zverev revealed he felt “empty” and “alone” and said he was open to seeking help from a therapist.
The 28-year-old German has struggled by his own standards since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final in January — his third defeat in as many major title matches. He is arguably the most accomplished player not to win a Grand Slam title in tennis history
After revealing he would consider seeking help from a therapist, Zverev was asked whether he still feels close to getting over the line at Grand Slams.
Zverev replied: “Right now this second (smiling)? Again, I have to solve myself first. I have to solve my issues, and then… Tennis-wise I do, I still feel like I’m one of the best players in the world. Again, it’s not about tennis at the moment for me.”
Asked if the burning desire is still inside him, Zverev said: “To win a major, yes. I don’t know how to answer this, to be honest, because it’s a feeling that you’re going to bed and you’re just not really motivated for the next day, you don’t really feel like waking up and going to work.
“I think everybody had this feeling, it doesn’t matter what job you had. As an athlete, it kind of reflects on performance a lot. That’s more what I have right now.”
Zverev, who is coached by his father and brother, also addressed whether the rebuilding process could involve working with a new coach.
“Possibly,” he said. “As I said, yeah, it’s a different feeling right now for me. I can’t speak for the moment. But I think I’ll have answers by Canada. It’s not a feeling on a tennis court, it’s just a life feeling in general.
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“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.
“Again, I just feel generally very, very alone and very lonely. I don’t know. Just never felt that way before. I don’t have the answers right now.”
The 24-time ATP titlist added: “I mean, to be very honest, I don’t think I played a terrible, terrible match. I didn’t break him once, which speaks a lot for him. I felt, especially yesterday, it was a really, really good match.
“The third set today, I didn’t play well. The fourth set, I played quite well. The fifth set, I played okay, just apart from that one stupid game.
“Tennis-wise, it’s funny I say that because I lost first round, but I don’t think tennis is the problem right now for me. It’s something else that I have to find within me at the moment.
“Again, it’s difficult for me to tell you because I don’t have the answers right now. I have a month until Canada. Yeah, we’ll see what happens until then. But something within me has to change, which is not necessarily on the tennis court, a forehand or backhand, right now.”
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