Alexander Zverev suffered a disastrous opening-round exit at Wimbledon 2025, losing 6-7(3), 7-6(8), 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6 to Arthur Rinderknech. The German said after the match that he was lacking joy and was open to therapy.
Alexander Zverev on His Struggles After Wimbledon Defeat
Zverev and Rinderknech played out a five-set fixture that lasted for four hours and 45 minutes. The German’s defeat marked his first opening-round exit at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2019.
Zverev’s form has not been the same since his Australian Open final defeat to Jannik Sinner, and he was asked about this in his post-match press conference. The German said he has struggled mentally after the Melbourne Major and that he feels alone in life at the moment
“I would say more mental. I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle. Mentally, I’ve been saying that I’ve struggled since after the Australian Open. Just don’t know. Trying to find ways to get out of this hole. I keep finding myself back in it. I feel, generally speaking , quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice,” Zverev said.
The World No. 3 was later asked if he was considering therapy and he said he would probably need it for the first time in his life. Zverev also said that he is lacking joy in and outside tennis.
“Maybe. Maybe for the first time in my life I’ll probably need it. I’ve been through a lot of difficulties in the media and in life generally. I’ve never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy in everything that I do. It’s not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis as well,” the 28-year-old said.
After his loss to Rinderknech at Wimbledon, Zverev says he feels very alone in life & is considering therapy, ‘I’ve never felt this empty before’
“What feels different now compared to when you got to the final in Australia? Is it physical? Mental?”
Zverev: “I would say more… pic.twitter.com/uKYQXWWFVe
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 1, 2025
Alexander Zverev Has Won 27 out of 40 Matches Since Australian Open Final Defeat
The German had an impressive start to the 2025 season, as he won both of his matches at the United Cup and reached his third Grand Slam final at the Australian Open. After the Melbourne Major, he suffered early exits in Buenos Aires, Acapulco and Indian Wells.
Zverev started his clay-court season with a second-round exit at the Monte-Carlo Masters, and followed it up with his only title of the 2025 season so far at the BMW Open. The German then endured a fourth-round exit at the Madrid Open. His next three tournaments included quarterfinal exits at the Italian Open and the French Open.
Zverev started his grass season with a runner-up finish at the Boss Open in Stuttgart before losing in the semifinals of the Halle Open. Following his first-round exit at Wimbledon, the World No. 3 is next scheduled to compete at the Swiss Open in Gstaad.
