Alexander Zverev: Courts being slowed to help Sinner, Alcaraz

Alexander Zverev says tournament organizers are slowing down tennis courts to favor Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Zverev, the world No. 3, overcame an injury scare to beat Valentin Royer 6-4, 6-4 at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday but then voiced his displeasure with the way he felt the sport was heading.

“I hate when it’s the same, to be honest,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “I think the tournament directors are going towards that direction because, obviously, they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament, and that’s what they prefer.

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“Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don’t like it. I’m not a fan of it. I think tennis needs different game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety, and I think we’re lacking that right now.”

Alcaraz and Sinner are the only two players to hold the No. 1 ranking since June 2024. They split this year’s four Grand Slams, and both are coming off title wins — Sinner at the China Open and Alcaraz at the Japan Open — though Alcaraz is missing the Shanghai Masters because of a left ankle injury.

Zverev had to be treated on court for a toe injury when serving for the match at 5-4, but it did not halt his progress.

“I landed funny on my toe, and after that I could barely do a step, so we’ll see what it is,” he said. “We will see if I will ever be healthy this year again, because it’s been a struggle, but I’m happy to be through.”

PA contributed to this report.