Serena Williams’ Ex-Coach Slams ‘Delusional’ Alexander Zverev for ‘Lumping Himself’ in with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

After Jannik Sinner thrashed Alexander Zverev in the Madrid Open final, Sascha in the press conference said the Italian is a cut above everyone else. Zverev, who registered his ninth consecutive defeat at the hands of Sinner and now trails 4-10 in the head-to-head matchups, also put himself in the same bracket as Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic.

And because of this, he found himself on the receiving end of criticism from the tennis community, including Serena Williams‘ former coach Rennae Stubbs. Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic are Grand Slam champions, and Zverev is a three-time Major finalist.

Though he has been making deep runs in almost every tournament he has played so far this year, he has yet to end his title drought. The last title that he won was the 2025 Munich Open by defeating Ben Shelton. Stubbs called Zverev delusional and urged him to look at reality.

‘I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everyone else,’ – I mean, he just kept saying that, but he lumps himself in there with Alcaraz. Bro, what? The delusion. And here’s the thing. If he had said this, my respect level for him would go up. If he said, ‘Look, bottom line is, I’m a really good player. I get to a lot of finals. I get to a lot of semis. I usually beat every player,’ – which is not the case, because who did he lose to the week before?

Rennae Stubbs said on her The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast

Alcaraz, the winner of this year’s Australian Open and the Qatar Open, lost the Monte-Carlo Masters to Sinner, and after injuring his wrist during the Barcelona Open, he was forced to skip the Madrid Open. He will also not be defending his titles at the Italian Open and the French Open.

That I would be like, respect, right? But to lump himself in with Carlos Alcaraz, who has literally won every major title, all of them, all four, by the age of like 21, is insanity. Okay? And yet this guy, who has not even won a Grand Slam, is saying that he’s in that same category. Dude, what?

Rennae Stubbs added

Djokovic, who was last seen in action in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters, skipped both the Monte Carlo and Madrid Masters 1000s but is set to return to the Italian Open. It was him, whom Alcaraz defeated in the Melbourne Slam final.

Andy Roddick calls Jannik Sinner an algorithm

Jannik Sinner is in red-hot form. Although he exited from the Australian Open and the Qatar Open before reaching the final, he has won every tournament he has played since then.

He captured his career’s first Indian Wells title, then became the eighth man to complete the Sunshine Double with his victory in Miami. After capturing his second clay-court title in Monte Carlo, Sinner became the first man in history to win the first four Masters 1000s of the season with his win in Madrid.

He is now aiming to become the first man in history to win six consecutive Masters 1000s. Because of his consistent performance, he was called an algorithm by Andy Roddick.

Sinner is an algorithm. He updates himself, he evolves, he never has a dull moment. It’s incredible, he’s a much better player than he was in September last year. And he was already extraordinary.

Andy Roddick said on his Served podcast

Sinner lost both the Italian Open and the French Open last year to Carlos Alcaraz. If he wins in Rome, he will complete the Career Golden Masters, and he will also complete the Career Grand Slam if he wins at Roland Garros.

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