Rennae Stubbs Claims Alexander Zverev ‘Doesn’t Deserve’ to Be World No.2 After Inconsistent Start to Season

Alexander Zverev has won one title this season: the BMW Open, which he lifted by beating Ben Shelton.

Rennae Stubbs Claims Alexander Zverev ‘Doesn’t Deserve’ to Be World No.2 After Inconsistent Start to Season

Alexander Zverev, Rennae Stubbs (Image via X/The New York Post, Tennis Channel)

Alexander Zverev, since losing the Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner, produced inconsistent performances. In the next six tournaments, he failed to win more than two matches before breaking the streak at the BMW Open.

The German defeated Ben Shelton to win his home tournament. But afterward, he lost his fourth-round match at the Madrid Open against Francisco Cerundolo. Serena Williams‘ former coach Rennae Stubbs gave her verdict on Zverev’s inconsistent start to the season and expressed her hope to see him perform strongly at the Italian Open.

Zverev is the number two seed in Rome. I just don’t know his ranking being at two, hopefully, that changes by the French Open because he doesn’t deserve to be number two in the world. He has not turned up for the big matches. His loss in Madrid. That should not happen in Madrid.

Rennae Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast

The BMW Open was Zverev’s first victory since the Paris Masters in November last year. The German lost his No.2 ranking for a week after Carlos Alcaraz lifted the Monte Carlo Masters but because the latter failed to beat Holger Rune in the final of the Barcelona Open, he was once again toppled by Zverev.

Neither of them, however, could dethrone Sinner from the top. Sinner will be playing his first match since beating Zverev in the Melbourne Slam.

Despite playing only one tournament this season, the three-time Grand Slam champion continues to sit on top with 9,730 points, while Zverev and Alcaraz have 8,085 and 7,850 points respectively. Zverev won’t be able to remove the 23-year-old from the top of the rankings even if he ends up winning the Italian Open.

Alexander Zverev slams critics for questioning his ranking

Alexander Zverev criticized those who questioned whether he deserved to be in the second position in the rankings table. He pointed out that not just him, but even Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic suffered from a slump in form.

Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev (Image via X/We Are Tennis)

I do think the media also loves to put players down, right? I had a bad two months before Munich, right? I didn’t play great tennis before Munich. All of a sudden I’m like the worst world No 2 in the world ever. I don’t deserve to be there.

Alexander Zverev said at the press conference

Alcaraz, since losing the Australian Open quarterfinal to Djokovic, had disappointing runs in the next few tournaments he played, entering the clay swing without winning a Sunshine Double trophy for the first time since 2021. He finally ended his trophy drought at the Monte Carlo Masters by beating Lorenzo Musetti in three sets.

Djokovic, on the other hand, is still searching for his first title since winning the gold medal last year at the Paris Olympics. This season, he registered three consecutive defeats twice and also withdrew from the Italian Open, which he lifted six times. He will not be playing in the tournament for the first time since 2007.

Alexander Zverev is projected to meet Carlos Alcaraz in the Italian Open semifinals

Alexander Zverev has met Carlos Alcaraz 11 times and edges him 6-5 in the head-to-head encounters. They once again could set up a blockbuster match if both of them reach the semifinals of the Italian Open. The winner of the match could schedule the showdown with Jannik Sinner.

Carlos Alcaraz Barcelona Open 2025
Carlos Alcaraz (via Instagram/ Carlos Alcaraz)

If they meet, then it will be their first encounter since the 2024 ATP Finals, where they clashed in the round-robin stage. The Italian Open will be Alcaraz’s first tournament since the Barcelona Open as he skipped the Madrid Open due to his hamstring injury.

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