Alexander Zverev Tears into the Davis Cup Modern Format Following ATP Finals Exit

Alexander Zverev has revealed that he’s not happy with the current format of the Davis Cup Finals after crashing out of the ATP Finals in Turin. The World No. 3 ended his hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the tournament after falling to Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets, despite being among the favorites to win the title.

Zverev’s participation at the ATP Finals was his eighth of his career having won it on two separate occasions. His defeat and elimination were not foremost on the 28-year-old’s mind as he still has to play the Davis Cup Finals before embarking on vacation ahead of the 2026 season in the men’s circuit.

He’s a leader in the German team at the Davis Cup Finals and they will take on Argentina in the quarter-finals, which takes place in Bologna, Italy. Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz are the only top 10 players who will feature in the Finals, while Lorenzo Musetti is a major doubt for Italy following his exit from the ATP Finals.

However, Italy will be missing its biggest star, Jannik Sinner, who withdrew from the Davis Cup Finals last month. The Italian star was heavily criticized for his decision to take an early vacation rather than representing his country at the national event. He helped Italy win the 2023 and 2024 Davis Cup.

The new Davis Cup format won’t require players to travel as often for the final phase of the nation’s tournament. During Zverev’s press conference at the ATP Finals in Turin, he recalled the home and away Davis Cup ties and admitted that he’s not satisfied with the current format:

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 ATP Finals. But to play quarterfinals, semifinals, I’m not too happy about because it can be a waste of time. To play against Italy in Italy, it would be a completely different atmosphere than playing Italy in Spain. I played against [Rafael] Nadal in a bullfighting arena in 2018. That’s for me the real Davis Cup.

Zverev would have hoped for a better outcome at the ATP Finals this season having reached the semi-finals last year. He entered the tournament after a semi-final finish at the Rolex Paris Masters. But in Turin, he managed to win just one match before losing two against Jannik Sinner and Auger-Aliassime, respectively.

Alexander Zverev unsatisfied with his 2025 season after the ATP Finals exit

Alexander Zverev has been one of the top players struggling with form on tour this season. After reaching the final of the Australian Open in Melbourne, the 28-year-old failed to compete as expected on the court, winning just the Munich Open in his hometown. He racked up just 55 wins on tour but lost on 25 occasions.

During the aforementioned press conference, he was asked about his 2025 season. The former World No.2 revealed that it has been an unsatisfying season on tour, adding that the tennis season had its ups and downs. He added that he only had two good tournaments on tour in 2025:

Yeah, from my end, this was not a good tennis match. For me, an incredibly unsatisfying season. The tennis season is long, you have a lot of ups and downs. For me, there were not many ups. I think for me, the Australian Open final, Munich as you mentioned. Everything else, I’m very unsatisfied.

Outside the Australian Open and Munich Open, Zverev reached the final in Stuttgart and Vienna, losing to Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner in the final, respectively. Meanwhile, in Grand Slam tournaments, he failed to reach the semi-finals of the French Open, Wimbledon Championships, and the US Open.

Also Read: Wim Fissette Admits Iga Swiatek Has Plans to Skip Tournaments in 2026

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