Wimbledon: Zverev admits he is struggling to cope with life; Gauff ‘felt overwhelmed' after French Open triumph

Time of India

15 hours ago

Alexander Zverev (AP Photo)
The Times of India at Wimbledon:
This isn't about the timing of forehands and backhands. Rest assured, Alexander Zverev is feeling the ball quite well. This is about a sunless space.
The joy is fading.
The world No. 3, who went down in five sets to Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the Wimbledon first round on Tuesday, has said for the first time in his life that he is considering therapy.
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The 28-year-old German, one of the heavyweights of a generation that was tipped to take over from tennis' trinity — Roger Federer,
Rafael Nadal
and
Novak Djokovic
— is an Olympic gold medallist, and twice champion of the ATP's season finale, but is yet to win a Major.
He has made three Grand Slam finals, most recently at Melbourne Park in January, where he was outplayed by the world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
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'Generally speaking, I feel quite alone in life,' said Zverev, who is dating Sophia Thomalla, a 35-year-old actress, model, and television presenter.
Zverev is of the belief that something within him has to change, and he's hoping that it will happen by the time he arrives in Toronto for the American hardcourt swing in late July.
The German, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a four-year-old, has anger management issues, having launched an intimidating attack on an umpire's chair, following a doubles loss in Acapulco three years ago.
Zverev has also been accused of violence by his former girlfriend Olga Sharypova in 2020 and of domestic abuse in 2023 by Brenda Patea, with whom he has a child.
Zverev has categorically denied both sets of allegations.
A Berlin court case filed by Patea was discontinued last year. 'I've been through a lot of difficulties in the media. I've been through a lot of difficulties in life generally,' he said. 'I've never felt this empty before, just lacking joy in everything that I do. It's a feeling that you're going to bed and you're just not really motivated for the next day, you don't really feel like waking up and going to work,' he said.
'I think everybody has had this feeling, it doesn't matter what job you had.
For an athlete, it reflects on performance a lot.'
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Zverev was speaking for a community late on Tuesday. In recent times there has been a profusion of cases, with players bringing to light the challenges of life on the tour. World No. 2 Coco Gauff, who claimed her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in June, was bounced out of the Wimbledon first round late on Tuesday, failing to Dayana Yastremska in straight sets.
'I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,' the 21-year-old American said of the days following her triumph.
'I didn't feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back. The turnaround was quick.' After limping out of Roland Garros in late May, Casper Ruud, the two-time French Open finalist, called the ATP Rankings a 'rat race'.
'You feel obligated to play, you feel like you lose a lot if you don't show up and play, economically, points-wise, ranking-wise and opportunity-wise,' said Ruud. Spirited Aussie Alex de Minaur, who complained of being burnt out in just the fifth month of the season, called for a shorter schedule.
After crashing out in the first round to Arthur Fery, a British player ranked No. 461, Alexei Popyrin told reporters that he felt 'numb' and 'unmotivated'. 'I was underprepared going into Wimbledon, that's something you know can't happen again,' the 25-year-old Aussie said. 'I'm not upset because of today. I'm upset because of everything that's happened before. I have to prioritise mental health.'
While Zverev's struggles are different, it's about striking a balance between tennis and life.
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