Alexander Zverev joins Stefanos Tsitsipas by slamming the Canadian Open conditions
Alexander Zverev suffered a shock Canadian Open exit at the hands of Tallon Griekspoor in the second round of the Canadian Open.
The German was the favourite to win the title due to the withdrawals of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic, particularly following his strong run of form at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Zverev struggled throughout against the powerful Dutchman and eventually lost 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 to end his campaign in Toronto surprisingly early.
The world No 3 was dumped out of the competition alongside the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, and Taylor Fritz, while Felix Auger-Aliassime withdrew from the tournament with an injury.
That leaves Alex de Minaur as the top seed at the event, while Zverev will head off early to start his preparations for the Cincinnati Open.
Asked if his exit was a missed opportunity due to the lack of Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Sinner, Zverev responded: “No. I have seven of these. It’s okay.”
Zverev was less than complimentary about the quality of the tennis balls at the Canadian Open, which has been a running theme throughout the year.
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“But I think with the conditions and the balls, I think there is going to be some strange-ish results, ranking wise, player wise, that you maybe don’t expect during other tournaments. And, again, it’s the first hard court event for us in a couple of months.
“I think everybody is still trying to find their form.The balls are just not controllable. It’s the same every year. It’s nothing new. The Wilson balls are difficult, but again, that’s not the reason I lost today. I think I’m just not in form yet that I was the last couple of months.
“I need to train, I need to practice and to find that rhythm again. Again, I don’t want to find excuses. It’s not a problem. I think it’s just something that everybody has to get used to, and Canada is just the first tournament that we play with them. So it just takes time to get used to.”
The likes of Fritz, de Minaur, and Daniil Medvedev have all been outspoken about the quality of balls over the 2026 season.
Many complain the quality of the ball degrades far quicker than they used to and well within the nine-game changeover.
At the end of the 2025 season, Medvedev said: “Some players will like this ball, so I get it. I’m crying because it disadvantages me. But if you take six balls out of the new balls out of the can, if you look closely and you bounce them, there are going to be six different balls. I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to be.”
Along with Zverev complaining about the balls, Stefanos Tsitsipas also complained about the conditions of the court at the Toronto tournament.
During an on-court tirade, Tsitsipas said: “Do you see the bounce? This is like a court from a public court. It has like, a bounce, like this. Do you see it? It’s not a singles court. It’s a Masters 1000. What are we doing? I would never miss this. It’s uneven.”
