World number two Alexander Zverev clearly criticized the high level of stress in the discussion about the tennis season being too long.
16. November 2024
“What we are doing here with our tour is complete madness,” said the 27-year-old from Hamburg after reaching the semi-finals at the ATP Finals in Turin. “Maybe other players see it differently, but I think a lot of things have gone in the wrong direction in the last few years.”
It might be nice for the fans to be able to watch tennis for eleven months – too much for the athletes. “We are all over the world – for eleven months. “I don’t think I’ve spent more than three days at home at a time this year,” Zverev reported, also referring to the short breaks between tournaments.
Not at home for three days in a row
“For me, a day off is when I sleep at home in my own bed, spend time with my daughter and be with my dogs. This is a day off for me that I can enjoy,” explained Zverev. He doesn’t consider a day without a game, which he spends, for example, traveling long distances to training in Shanghai, to be a day off.
For Zverev, the season ends at the latest after the final of the year-end tournament for the best tennis professionals of the season on Sunday. The season then continues next week with the final round of the Davis Cup in Malaga, which Zverev will miss out on. It starts again for him at the end of the year when he competes with the German team at the United Cup in Australia from December 27th to January 5th. Zverev announced that he would fly to Australia on December 19th this year. “We don’t have a single holiday free with the family anymore,” he complained.
ATP Finals in Turin, the semi-finals
Saturday:
Alexander Zverev – Taylor Fritz (2:30 p.m.)
Jannik Sinner – Casper Ruud (8.30 p.m., live on SportNews-Ticker)
