Jan 26, 2025; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Jannik Sinner of Italy and Alexander Zverev of Germany shake hands after their match in the final of the men's singles at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park.

tennis

‘They Want Jannik Sinner & Carlos Alcaraz To Do Well’ – Alexander Zverev Seconds Roger Federer Regarding Court Speed Criticism

Former Grand Slam runner-up reckons court conditions are too similar across surfaces.

Days after 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer criticized the slow nature of tennis courts, Alexander Zverev has also lashed out at the present-day court conditions. Furthermore, the German superstar added that he believes tournaments are catering to the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz by slowing down the pace.

Alexander Zverev is currently participating in the 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters. He kicked off his campaign in successful fashion, beating Valentin Royer 6-4 6-4 in the Round of 64. There was a wave of surprise in the tennis fraternity when a statistic showed the drastic reduction in court speed at the Qizhong Tennis Center this year. With more courts playing at a similar speed and bounce, there is an argument that the entertainment and variety is gradually going out of the game.

Businesslike 👔

Looking to finish the year strong Alexander Zverev kicks off his Shanghai campaign with a 6-4 6-4 win over Royer 💪#RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/YDsQP3AzKZ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 4, 2025

In September, Roger Federer appeared on the ‘Served With Andy Roddick’ podcast during the 2025 Laver Cup. During an interesting discussion, the 44-year-old spoke about the one-dimensional nature of tennis courts today. “We, the tournament directors, need to fix it [court speed],” he said. “We need to have not only fast courts, but we’d want to see Alcaraz or Sinner figure it out on lightning fast, and then have the same match on super slow and see how that matches up.”

Alexander Zverev Wins in Shanghai, Agrees With Roger Federer Analysis

Zverev began his campaign in Shanghai with a straight sets win over Royer on Saturday. The World No. 3 had a great outing on serve, and remained solid on both wings throughout the encounter. He suffered a minor injury scare on his toe in the final game of the match, and will assess the same ahead of his Round of 32 bout. 2019 finalist Zverev completed his 48th win of the season in the process.

Alexander Zverev echoes Federer's sentiments when asked about the slower court speeds in Shanghai this year after his R2 win:

"I hate when [court speeds are] the same. And I know that the tournament directors are going towards that direction because obviously they want Jannik… pic.twitter.com/wO1ipKS9Xf
— Christian's Court (@christianscourt) October 4, 2025

After the match, Zverev addressed the situation regarding the nature of courts on the ATP circuit. “I hate when [court speeds are] the same. I know the tournament directors are going towards that direction because obviously they want Jannik and Carlos to do well in every tournament. We always had different surfaces – you couldn’t play the same tennis on a grass court, hard court and clay court.”

“Nowadays you can play almost the same way on every surface,” continued the 28-year-old. Do you agree with the assessments of Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer?

(Image Credits: Mike Frey, Imagn Images)

Alexander Zverev

Andy Roddick

ATP

Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner

Roger Federer

Shanghai Masters 2025

Tennis

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.