Alexander Zverev Finally Breaks Silence on Toni Nadal Coaching Rumors

Alexander Zverev has played three finals and won just the Munich Open so far this season.

Alexander Zverev Finally Breaks Silence on Toni Nadal Coaching Rumors

Toni Nadal, Alexander Zverev (Image via X/Olly Tennis, We Are Tennis)

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It seems Alexander Zverev hasn’t yet added Rafael Nadal‘s former coach and uncle Toni Nadal to his team. But he has hinted at a possible partnership ahead of kick-starting his campaign on the North American hard-court swing.

Zverev is in Toronto for the Canadian Open. The first seed is pitted against Australia’s Adam Walton in his opening round. In the pre-tournament press conference, Sascha addressed the coaching rumors.

He revealed that after his Wimbledon exit, he received a long voice message from Nadal. The two then talked for about an hour and a half. He also asked Uncle Toni if he could visit the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.

I went there, I saw him, and it was an amazing 10 days. I really enjoyed it and I’m very thankful to him and to Rafa also for welcoming me the way I did. It was really nice.

Zverev is currently coached by his father, Alexander Zverev Sr., and his brother, Mischa Zverev. The player Nadal last coached was Canadian ace Felix Auger-Aliassime (from 2021 to 2024). Nadal coached Rafael for 16 years, the same number of Grand Slam titles he won under his uncle.

The time in Mallorca was amazing. I’m trying to convince him to do more weeks with me, and we’ll see how it goes, but he’s a very busy man. Also, he has a lot of dates that he already committed to this year, so I’m not sure how much of him you’ll see this year.

Alexander Zverev added

Zverev has lifted just one title this season- the Munich Open, by beating Ben Shelton. Apart from the home event, he also made it to the summit clashes of the Australian Open and Stuttgart Open, losing both to World No.1 Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz, respectively.

Boris Becker makes his feelings known on Alexander Zverev’s mental health struggles

Alexander Zverev crashed out of Wimbledon after a five-set battle against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the first round that lasted for nearly five hours. Following his exit, a dejected Zverev revealed that he had been dealing with mental health issues since his defeat to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final, and that he couldn’t find joy in anything he did on and off the court.

Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

Zverev is like a “sporting adopted son” to former player Boris Becker. And when the 28-year-old opened up about his mental health issues, Becker said he had “cried”. But now, during an event in Germany, Becker said the three-time Grand Slam finalist shouldn’t have talked about his mental state.

If I had been his coach, I would have advised him not to reveal such information about his mental state at the Wimbledon press conference. Ideally, you don’t open up when you’re eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament.

Boris Becker said (H/T: Tennis365)

Last year in North America, Zverev crashed out of the Canadian Open after a three-set defeat to Sebastian Korda in the quarterfinals. In Cincinnati, the World No.3 lost to eventual champion Sinner in the semifinals. At Flushing Meadows, the 2020 US Open finalist couldn’t go beyond the quarterfinals, losing in four sets to eventual runner-up Taylor Fritz.

Zverev currently has a 498-212 win-loss record in his career- that is, he is just two wins away from reaching the 500 mark. He has not yet played his Canadian Open first-round opponent in his career.

Zverev hasn’t yet captured a Big Title since winning the Paris Masters last year by beating Ugo Humbert. Last year, he won two Masters 1000 titles. Apart from the Paris Masters, Zverev was the winner at the Italian Open.

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