Alexander Zverev arrived in Sydney as part of Team Germany’s United Cup squad, carrying with him a tough perspective on what turned out to be an injury-filled 2025 season. Despite finishing the year ranked World No. 3, the German star has been open about his struggles with various physical problems throughout the campaign.
As Germany gets ready for their opening match against the Netherlands at Ken Rosewall Arena, Zverev offered insight into a season he felt was far from satisfactory.
Alexander Zverev Opens Up About His 2025 Season During 2026 United Cup Press Conference
Team Germany reached Sydney to start their United Cup campaign. During the team’s press conference, Zverev talked about how his 2025 season played out differently from what people expected. When asked about his year, he made it clear that finishing World No. 3, even though some saw it as strong, did not match how he felt about his performance.
“I think you’re the first person in a long time to tell me I had a strong season,” Zverev said with a slight smile, pushing back on the outside view of his year. He stressed that the media had painted his season in the wrong light. “I feel like it was made out to be a lot more negative than it was probably by a lot of people, by media, a lot of German journalists, as well.”
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Zverev was straightforward about his physical problems without making excuses. “I had issues. I had issues with my body. I had injuries throughout the entire season,” he said honestly. “For me, finishing 3 in the world, with the issues that I had, I feel like looking back at it, it’s still something to be proud of.”
He also pointed out how big the gap had become at the top. “Of course, No. 1 and 2 are quite far ahead, which was not the case at the end of 2024 when I finished No. 2 in the world.”
He acknowledged the fact that he has “a lot of catching up to do” but stressed on the fact that the rest of the tour does as well.
Zverev’s Injury-Ridden 2025 Season and Germany’s United Cup Fixture
The 2025 season was tough for Zverev because injuries kept showing up from beginning to end. He reached the Australian Open final early in the year but lost to Sinner. After that, things got harder as different injuries added up. He called the year “a nightmare” and “incredibly unsatisfying” because of ongoing problems with his shoulder, back, and ankle.
Zverev still finished 2025 at World No. 3 with 5,110 ranking points. Looking at the numbers told an interesting story about how spread out the top players are. Sinner finished the year with 11,500 points while Alcaraz led with 12,050 points, meaning both were more than 6,300 points ahead of Zverev.
Germany’s United Cup group puts them in Group F at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney. They’ll play the Netherlands on January 4 in their first match and Poland on January 5. Germany won the United Cup in 2024, beating Poland in the finals, and wants to make another deep run in this early-season team tournament.
