Alexander Zverev Sparks Rumors of Adding Toni Nadal to his Coaching Setup for the Australian Open
Daniil Medvedev trained with Toni Nadal for ten days in July before the start of the North American hard-court swing.
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Toni Nadal, Alexander Zverev (Image via X/Olly Tennis, We Are Tennis)
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Alexander Zverev has shared an update on the likelihood of hiring Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni Nadal as his coach in the near future. The World No.3 is currently seeking someone to help boost his confidence following his poor performance on the ATP Tour this season, particularly during the Asian swing.
Zverev is still ranked World No.3 in the ATP rankings, but has endured a very rough patch on tour, crashing out in the early stages of many tournaments. In the last two Grand Slams at Wimbledon and the US Open, the German star failed to win more than two matches, crashing out in the opening round of the former and the third round of the latter.
His poor run continued at the Laver Cup, where he was unable to win a set in the singles matches. But at the China Open, he won two consecutive matches for the first time in more than two weeks, but crashed out in the quarter-finals after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals in straight sets.
Recently, the 28-year-old’s Asian swing ended in disappointment, having bowed out in the third round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters after losing to Arthur Rinderknech. That has now made the 2024 French Open finalist begin to think about the acquisition of Toni Nadal as his next coach. He trained with Uncle Toni for ten days in July ahead of the North American hard-court swing.
He revealed after the experience that it was amazing and that he tried convincing the Spaniard to join his team. However, during his interview with Sky Sports, Zverev revealed that he’s in touch with Toni Nadal, stressing that he’s looking forward to working with him at the start of the 2026 season:
We are in touch. We are talking a lot about what next year could possibly look like. But so far, there is no news, and I will update you guys when I know more. I would like him to come to Australia with me to start, so we will see!
Zverev’s best run in the 2025 season came at the Munich Open and the Australian Open. He won the Munich Open in April after beating Ben Shelton in the final, but fell to Jannik Sinner in the final of the Australian Open in January. The German star was expected to compete with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner, but he has failed to do so on tour, and that has led to many former players criticizing him.
Alexander Zverev admits he has no confidence in himself after crashing out of the Rolex Shanghai Masters
Alexander Zverev admitted after his loss to Arthur Rinderknech that he was playing terrible tennis. Under the stifling humid conditions of the tournament, the World No.54 came from a set down to beat the German star for the second time this season. Rinderknech defeated Zverev at the Wimbledon Championships in July.
Zverev fell to Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. After the defeat, he revealed to Eurosport that he’s having a very tough battle with his back injury. The 28-year-old added that he lacks faith and confidence in himself on the court:
It’s been a really tough year physically, with back problems that won’t go away. I’m in a real battle with myself because I have immense distrust in my game. I simply don’t believe in myself, I lack any kind of faith and confidence in myself. I’m playing terrible tennis, and my season’s record is really bad.
Zverev will hope to bounce back from his horrible form before the Paris Masters. The World No. 3 won the tournament last year, and if he fails to defend it this season, he will lose a significant number of ranking points, which could see him drop out of the Top 5.
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