Alexander Zverev will play his first match of the 2026 ATP season at the United Cup in Australia.
The German will represent his country at the international hard court event, with the first tie coming against the Netherlands.
Which country do you think will win the United Cup?
Zverev finished last year ranked third in the world with a points tally of 5,110, but by his standards, it was a largely underwhelming campaign.
He won just one tour-level title, which came at the Munich Open, and suffered three near misses in finals at the Australian Open, the Stuttgart Open and the Vienna Open.
However, ahead of his run at the United Cup, Zverev suggested his season was harshly criticised by many.
Alexander Zverev reviews his 2025 season on the ATP Tour
In his pre-tournament press conference, the 28-year-old said: “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.
“I had issues. I had issues with my body. I had injuries throughout the entire season. For me, finishing third in the world, with the issues that I had, I feel like looking back at it, it’s still something to be proud of.
“Of course, it wasn’t the season that I wanted to have. There weren’t the titles that I wanted to have, the big titles especially.
“Again, with the issues that I had, with everything that was happening, to finish number three in the world I feel like it’s still a good thing.
“Of course, numbers one and two are quite far ahead, which was not the case at the end of 2024 when I finished number two in the world.
“But yeah, I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do, but so does the rest of the tour.”
Alexander Zverev said his Wimbledon exit was a turning point
Zverev continued: “I mean, in the middle of the year, I was really struggling, mentally, especially. Then, after the first round loss at Wimbledon, I had four weeks off until the next tournament.”
In the opening round at Wimbledon last year, Zverev lost to Arthur Rinderknech in a tough five-setter.
“I took some vacation,” said Zverev. “I took some holidays, spent time with my friends, and then went back to training. Changed the scenario a little bit. Went to Mallorca a little bit, as you know.
Where will Alexander Zverev finish 2026 ranked?
“Yeah, just started off fresh in a way. Almost had, like, a small off-season in that time. Four weeks, that’s basically what we get in the off-season these days.
“In a way, losing the first round of Wimbledon, of course, I don’t want to lose the first round of Wimbledon, but in a way it was helpful for me because I could just restart. Yeah, that was I think a bit of a turning point.”
Zverev’s first match at the United Cup will be against Tallon Griekspoor, whom he leads 8-2 in the head-to-head.
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