Alexander Zverev has had a fantastic start to his 2025 season, but it coincides with an injury for the German. Zverev aims to catch Jannik Sinner in the ATP Tour rankings, as the latter is currently ahead of the former. The German player is participating in the 2025 United Cup while recovering from an elbow injury. Zverev began his campaign by representing Germany, the defending champions, against Brazil on December 29.
Despite a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Thiago Monteiro, World No. 2 expressed dissatisfaction with his performance and revealed an elbow injury since the 2024 ATP Finals. Alexander Zverev was asked about his injury after winning his second round against Zhang Zhizhen (2-6, 6-0, 6-2) on Monday. The athlete stated that their elbow was “quite sore” and that the ATP tour balls were exacerbating the problem.
Alexander Zverev has previously discussed the subject. The Germans, like Daniil Medvedev and Stan Wawrinka, have criticised the deteriorating quality of tennis balls. At the ATP Finals, he alleged that the ATP tour’s balls had worsened in quality after COVID-19, as businesses moved to “different material” to “cut costs.” Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP chairman, addressed concerns about tennis balls raised by Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and others at the 2024 ATP Finals.
‘Dead’ Balls Killing the Game
The former athlete reassured the players that their accusations were taken seriously and action was being taken. Germany topped Group E with their triumphs and now faces a tough test against fellow unbeaten side Kazakhstan. He said in his post-match press conference about the injury issues with the players. Zverev said, “I didn’t serve since Turin. I had a little bit of an elbow issue. I think my speeds still need to go up a little bit.”
“It’s quite sore. I’m working on it every day. It’s just what it is. I think the balls are not helping,” he said in his press conference. They’re dead. We’ve been having this discussion for I don’t know how long. A lot of players nowadays have elbow issues, wrist issues, because that kind of subject, which wasn’t the case maybe 15, 20 years ago, or 10 years ago when I started.”
