The Australian Open semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev saw a heated moment as the latter was far from convinced with the Spaniard’s medical timeout. The two are competing for the 13th time in what is Alcaraz’s first semifinal at the Australian Open.
Alexander Zverev Furious Over Carlos Alcaraz Medical Timeout
Alcaraz started the match well and took the opening set 6-4 before trailing 2-5 in the second. The Spaniard fought back to enforce a tiebreak and won it 7-5 to take a two-set lead. The third set saw both players serve well and hold their respective service games, with the score standing at 5-4 in Alcaraz’s favor after nine games.
The Spaniard was spotted struggling physically during the third set and took a medical timeout during the changeover. This angered Zverev as he thought that Alcaraz had cramps and shouldn’t be allowed a medical timeout. The World No. 3 had a heated argument with the supervisor in German, voicing his frustration on the situation.
😭😭😭 #zverev #alcaraz #AustralianOpen https://t.co/N0JUVpP1uA pic.twitter.com/Y3kMCaOvcF
— flop | #ausopen (@adamiswasted) January 30, 2026
For those unversed, the ITF regulations state that a player may not receive a medical timeout due to muscle cramping and that treatment for the same can be done only during changeovers and/or set breaks.
“A player may receive treatment for muscle cramping only during the time
allotted for change of ends and/or set breaks. Players may not receive a Medical Time-Out for muscle cramping,” the rule states.
Zverev had some heated words with the supervisor in German while Carlos Alcaraz is being treated by the physio.
Zverev was ready to serve when the changeover ended, but Carlos’ treatment continued.
He appeared very angry that Carlos was able to take a medical time out for the… pic.twitter.com/ItWbnpNT2s
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 30, 2026
Action resumed soon after and both players held the remainder of their service games to take the third set to a tiebreak. Zverev won it 7-3 to keep his hopes of reaching a secondd straight Australian Open final alive.
MORE: Who Is in Alexander Zverev’s Coaching Box at Australian Open? Father, Brother Mischa, and More
Zverev and Alcaraz’s Australian Open Runs
Both players have fared pretty well so far at the tournament, with Alcaraz not dropping a set until the semifinals. The Spaniard beat Adam Walton, Yannick Hanfmann, 32nd seed Corentin Moutet, 19th seed Tommy Paul, and sixth seed Alex de Minaur.
Zverev, on the other hand, won only his fourth-round clash against 18th seed Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets, being pushed to at least four sets in all of his other fixtures. The German beat Gabriel Diallo, Alexandre Müller, 26th seed Cameron Norrie, Cerundolo, and 25th seed Learner Tien.
Whoever out of the two wins, will take on either defending champion Jannik Sinner or fourth seed Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.
