Alexander Zverev’s disappointing run at the ATP Finals has come to an end, wrapping up a season that fell well short of expectations.
The only event left on his schedule is the Davis Cup Finals, but after a long year filled with setbacks, he’ll likely be looking forward to some time away from the court.
Zverev spent much of the season ranked third in the world, and there were hopes he could challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s hold on men’s tennis. But instead of closing the gap, he seemed to fall further behind.
He has also dropped to seventh in the world rankings this year and is now below Alex de Minaur – something few would have predicted at the start of 2025.
After his loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime, Zverev looked ahead to his final event of 2025 and mentioned an issue he had been dealing with during this week’s ATP Finals.
Why Alexander Zverev says his volleys struggled at the ATP Finals
In his press conference, the first question put to him was about why his volleying had struggled in the loss. But before answering that, Zverev revisited an ongoing frustration he has with the current Davis Cup format.
Zverev said: “The true Davis Cup is the home-and-away ties. For me, if you’re in the final of Davis Cup, I’m more than happy to play one more week after the World Tour Finals. But to play quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals, I’m not too happy about because it can be a waste of time. If you lose in the semi-finals if you lose in quarter-finals, for me it’s a waste of time.
“In a way, yeah, the real Davis Cup is the atmosphere. To play against Italy in Italy would be a completely different atmosphere than playing Italy in Spain. I played against Nadal in a bullfighting arena. That’s for me the real Davis Cup.
“I always keep my opinion. I always said my opinion over the last couple years. I don’t think this Davis Cup is the real Davis Cup. It’s an exhibition tournament in a way that is called Davis Cup.”
Zverev ended by pointing out what he felt was behind his performance issues: “The volley – it’s very tough to serve and volley because the lights are coming from above. Every time the ball is going up, I had problems.”
Alexander Zverev points finger at ATP Finals organisers after disappointing finish
Alexander Zverev didn’t hide his frustration after losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime in his final group match, a result that capped off a frustrating tournament for the German.
Despite being mathematically alive heading into the final round, his campaign had lacked any real momentum or spark. He struggled to find rhythm, and by the end of the group stage, he was already looking ahead to the Davis Cup Finals as one last obligation before he could finally take a break from an exhausting year.
Sitting at his press conference, Zverev addressed a question about his volleying struggles during the loss. But before that, he revisited his long-standing criticism of the current Davis Cup format.
He said: “The true Davis Cup is the home-and-away ties. For me, if you’re in the final of Davis Cup, I’m more than happy to play one more week after the World Tour Finals. But to play quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals, I’m not too happy about because it can be a waste of time. If you lose in the semi-finals, if you lose in quarter-finals, for me it’s a waste of time.
“In a way, yeah, the real Davis Cup is the atmosphere. To play against Italy in Italy, it would be a completely different atmosphere than playing Italy in Spain. I played against Nadal in a bullfighting arena. That’s for me the real Davis Cup.
Zverev finished by offering his crucial complaint that he felt affected his play during this tournament noting: “The volleying here… it’s very tough to serve and volley because [the] lights are coming from above [the court]. Every time when [the ball] is going up I had problems.”
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