Alexander Zverev has made a significant U-turn on previous comments he has made about a prestigious ATP tournament.
Zverev struggled with the conditions at the ATP Finals this year after failing to advance from his round-robin group.
The world number three still has one tournament left this year, with Zverev making a rare appearance for Germany at the Davis Cup.
However, the Davis Cup is not the only tournament he has changed his mind about, with Zverev now being announced to play another tournament he has previously criticised in 2026.
Alexander Zverev set to return to the Rotterdam Open despite previously criticising courts
Zverev has been announced to play the Rotterdam Open in 2026, joining Carlos Alcaraz, Alex de Minaur and Stefanos Tsitsipas as names already announced for the ATP 500 event next year.
Alcaraz won the Rotterdam Open for the first time earlier this year, while Zverev has not played the tournament since 2023.
Instead, the German decided to play clay court tournaments in South America earlier this year, but Zverev struggled at both the Argentina Open and the Rio Open.
After this announcement was made, previous comments Zverev made about the Rotterdam Open resurfaced.
Zverev had criticised the conditions at the Rotterdam Open before, suggesting that they were too slow for his liking.
“I really don’t like the playing conditions in Rotterdam, I never felt good there,” Zverev once said about the Rotterdam tournament.
This is not the only criticism he has given of the 53-year-old tournament, with Zverev describing the conditions as ‘horrible’ when he lost to Dominic Thiem in 2017.
“The conditions here are horrible for me,” Zverev said eight years ago. “The court is very low-bouncing. The ball is very soft, almost like these soft balls used by kids. They almost don’t bounce. For my game, with my serve, you normally return it at shoulder height. He was returning at hip height all the time, which helps him a lot.
“It seems a wet clay court. His favourite surface is clay and so he felt comfortable playing behind the baseline while I could not hit winners.”
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Alexander Zverev’s previous results at the Rotterdam Open
Zverev’s comments about the conditions not suiting his game at the Rotterdam Open are reflected in his results, as he has only won 33% of his matches at the tournament.
Despite being a three-time Grand Slam finalist, Zverev has only reached the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open once before, which happened at the 2016 tournament when he was just 18 years old.
The last time Zverev played at the Rotterdam Open was in 2023, when he lost in the second round to home favourite Tallon Griekspoor, who has also been announced for the tournament next year.
| Year | Alexander Zverev’s Result at the Rotterdam Open |
| 2015 | Lost in the first round to Roberto Bautista Agut (7), 6-4 6-1 (0-1) |
| 2016 | Lost in the quarterfinals to Gael Monfils (5), 7-6(4) 6-3 (2-1) |
| 2017 | Lost in the first round to Dominic Thiem (2), 3-6 6-3 6-4 |
| 2018 | Lost in the first round to Andreas Seppi, 6-4 6-3 |
| 2021 | Lost in the first round to Alexander Bublik, 7-5 6-3 |
| 2023 | Lost in the second round to Tallon Griekspoor, 4-6 6-3 6-4 |
Before Zverev can think about returning to Rotterdam next year, he will have his focus on representing Germany at the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna.
Germany are playing Argentina in their quarterfinal tie on Thursday, November 20, where Zverev will play Francisco Cerundolo.
Zverev has previously struggled against Cerundolo, but he did win their most recent meeting at the Canadian Open.
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