Alexander Zverev’s campaign at the 2026 Australian Open ended in the semifinals after he lost to top seed Carlos Alcaraz. Following the match, the German clarified the argument he had with the tournament supervisor regarding Alcaraz’s medical timeout for cramps.
Alexander Zverev Opens Up About Him Complaining During Carlos Alcaraz’s Medical Timeout at Australian Open SF
Zverev, who was seeded third at the Melbourne Major, began his campaign at the tournament by defeating Gabriel Diallo, Alexandre Müller, 16th seed Cameron Norrie, and 18th seed Francisco Cerúndolo in the first four rounds, respectively.
In the quarterfinals, the former World No. 2 eliminated the 25th seed, Learner Tien, to advance to the semifinals. There, he faced Alcaraz and lost with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 5-7 in a match that lasted nearly five and a half hours, making it the longest semifinal in the history of the Australian Open.
During the final-four match, the hot weather affected both players, with Alcaraz experiencing severe cramps, prompting him to request a medical timeout. Two physiotherapists were seen administering massages to his thighs to alleviate the cramps.
The decision to grant Alcaraz a medical timeout did not sit well with Zverev, who expressed his frustrations to Australian Open supervisor Andreas Egli, allegedly claiming that the Spaniard and Jannik Sinner were being “protected” by the officials. He argued that a player should not be allowed a medical timeout for cramping, describing the situation as “unbelievable.”
“You are protecting both of them (Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner), this is unbelievable. He has cramp! He can’t take a medical, he is cramping. What else should it be? This is absolute bulls***. This is unbelievable. Cramps? You cannot be serious,” Zverev allegedly said.
Zverev to supervisor while Carlos Alcaraz received a medical timeout while cramping after the changeover was done
“He has cramps. This is absolute bullshit. That is unbelieveable. You can not be serious. You protect the both of them. Its unbeliveable” pic.twitter.com/CX0GvCq1ai
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 30, 2026
Following his loss to Alcaraz in the semifinals of the 2026 Australian Open, during the post-match press conference, Zverev was asked about the argument with the supervisor. In response, the former World No. 2 stated that usually a player cannot take a medical timeout for cramps, which was why he had complained.
The German mentioned that he expressed his displeasure that Alcaraz received the timeout, but acknowledged there was nothing he could do about it.
“Yeah, I mean, he was cramping, so normally you can’t take a medical time off for cramping. But what can I do? It’s not my decision. I didn’t like it, but it’s not my decision,” Zverev said.
When asked to elaborate on his comments about Alcaraz and Sinner being protected, Zverev mentioned that he did not quite remember what he had said.
However, he said that his match against the Spaniard was one of the “best battles” ever played in Australia and that he did not want his argument with the supervisor to overshadow it.
“I just said it was basically bulls***. I don’t remember, to be honest. It was 17 hours ago, and I don’t quite remember. But I’m sure somebody has it on video, and you can check. To be honest, I don’t want to talk about this right now because I think this was one of the best battles that ever was in Australia, and it doesn’t deserve to be the topic now,” he added.
Looking ahead, Zverev is next expected to compete at the ABN AMRO Open, which is scheduled to take place from February 9 to February 15, 2026, on the indoor hard courts at Rotterdam Ahoy.
