Alexander Zverev recently talked about the harsh reality of social media for tennis players. According to the German, there’s a “culture of blame” among fans of tennis, and this often rears its ugly head on social media.
Zverev himself has been on the receiving end of relentless criticism recently, particularly for his disappointing campaign at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open leading up to this year’s Roland Garros. The ATP No. 3 crashed out of the tournament in his native Germany with a shocking second-round loss to Alexandre Muller.
Ahead of kickstarting his 2025 French Open campaign, Alexander Zverev shed light on the kind of negativity that tennis players are subjected to online.
Trending
"These days, social media is more important than anything else. We get a lot of hate. For us tennis players, the insults we are exposed to daily online and on social media are extreme, because a lot of it happens via hidden messages, direct messages and the like," Zverev said.
The 24-time ATP Tour-level singles titlist went on to cite his own example to drive home his point. The German stated he was unwell during his short-lived campaign in Hamburg, but despite this, he played to avoid certain "accusations" from fans.
"If I had withdrawn (from Hamburg), I would have been accused of many things. I would probably have been accused of just taking the money and leaving after one match. That I wasn't taking the tournament seriously, and so on. But that's not true; I lost because I was sick. Tennis has a strong culture of blame among fans and also on social media," he added.
Zverev narrowly missed out on the French Open title last year after losing a thrilling five-set encounter against Carlos Alcaraz in the final. This year, the German is set to begin his Roland Garros campaign with a potentially tricky first-round match.
Alexander Zverev to lock horns with Learner Tien in French Open 1R, months after shocking loss to American teenager
In the second round of this year's Mexican Open in Acapulco, Alexander Zverev and Learner Tien faced each other for the first time. On paper, the German was the favorite to win. However, Tien, a qualifier at the event, sprang a remarkable surprise, registering a shocking straight-set win.
The two have been pitted against each other once more, this time in the first round of the 2025 French Open. Zverev's experience on clay and Tien's lack of it may prove telling in terms of how the match turns out.
If the German emerges victorious, he will go on to face either Jesper de Jong or Franceso Passaro in the second round of the prestigious claycourt Major.
