Alexander Zverev’s concerning confession surrounding his mental health has sparked reactions from Carlos Alcaraz, Emma Raducanu and other tennis stars. The German’s confession came in the aftermath of his shocking first-round exit from the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
Zverev, the ATP No. 3 and the third seed in the men’s singles main draw at SW19, faced Arthur Rinderknech in the first round. The German, a 24-time career singles titlist and a three-time runner-up at Majors, was the overwhelming favorite to win on paper. Astonishingly though, Rinderknech registered a 7-6(3), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4 upset.
Later, at his post-match press conference, Alexander Zverev cut a dejected figure and highlighted the worrying state of his mental health that has affected him since his loss to Jannik Sinner in this year’s Australian Open final. The 28-year-old even talked about potentially needing therapy to feel better.
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"I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle. Mentally, I’ve been saying that I’ve struggled since after the Australian Open. Just don’t know. Trying to find ways to get out of this hole. I keep finding myself back in it," Alexander Zverev said.
"Maybe. Maybe for the first time in my life I’ll probably need it (therapy). I’ve been through a lot of difficulties in the media and in life generally. I’ve never felt this empty before," Alexander Zverev added later.
Two-time defending men's singles champion at SW19, Carlos Alcaraz, was asked to share his thoughts on his rival's mental health concerns after the Spaniard's second-round win at the grass Major. Here, the ATP No. 2 laid bare his own mental approach to the sport and how he's found what works for him.
"I’ve felt down a lot of times on the court and in tournaments. I’m just really happy to have found the right path again and such good joy on the court. For me, it is not about winning or losing. For me it’s about having fun playing tennis, have fun stepping on court. Not thinking about the result. It’s just living the moment," Alcaraz said.
Emma Raducanu also weighed in with her thoughts following her women's singles second-round win at Wimbledon over former champion Marketa Vondrousova. The Brit acknowledged the mental challenges that tennis presents to players.
"It’s a mentally very challenging sport. I think for me, what I’ve found, is trying to surround yourself with good people.. trying to win the day.. trying to focus on the process as much as possible. I think the results, it’s really difficult to kind of take your joy from the results. Because it’s so up and down. It’s a rollercoaster," Raducanu said.
Aryna Sabalenka and Andrey Rublev delivered their takes on Alexander Zverev's situation as well
Reigning WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka expressed surprise at Alexander Zverev's confession considering the fact that the German's team consists of his father and brother. The Belarusian also revisited her own time in therapy, even though she acknowledged that she doesn't need it anymore because of the level of trust there is between her and her team.
"I had a therapist for like 5 years. I stopped working maybe in 2022. It’s actually crazy to hear from someone like Alexander because he surrounded himself with the family. I think it’s really important to talk openly about whatever you’re dealing with. Especially if you have your family, you can say whatever you feel to your family," Sabalenka said.
"Me, with my team, we always talk a lot. That’s why I don’t need a therapist. I have my team. We talk about whatever. I know they’re not gonna judge me. They’re not gonna blame me. They’re just gonna accept it and we’re gonna work through. This is the best advice I can give to Sascha (Zverev's nickname)," she added later.
Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev, who has notably battled demons of his own in the past, many times while playing, opined that the source of Alexander Zverev's issues is not tennis, but something else. According to the Russian, the sport is only triggering the negativity within the German because of a much deep-seated issue.
"To be honest, it has nothing to do with tennis . It's about the same thing. It's just that you can find excuses like you're exhausted or mentally tired of playing non-stop, non-stop, but it has nothing to do with tennis. In the end, tennis is just the trigger point . It's something inside you that you have to deal with," Rublev stated.
In his youth, Alexander Zverev was widely regarded as a player who would go on to win multiple Major titles. However, the German, now 28, is yet to taste success at the Grand Slams, despite his title wins at numerous other prestigious events in tennis.
