Alexander Zverev is making plans for his future after playing his first match since the Australian Open.
Zverev lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open semifinals last month, where he served for the match before losing in five hours and 27 minutes.
The world number four was scheduled to return to court sooner, but Zverev withdrew from the Rotterdam Open.
After Zverev overcame a tough first round in Acapulco against Corentin Moutet, the 28-year-old gave an insight into how long he plans to keep playing tennis before retiring.
Alexander Zverev reveals his plans to keep playing for 10 more years
Zverev beat Moutet, 6-2 6-4, in his first round match at the Mexican Open, where he won the title in 2021.
After returning to winning ways in Acapulco, Zverev spoke to Tennis TV in the on-court interview.
“Yeah really good, Corentin can be a tricky opponent,” Zverev said when asked about the match. “Especially if you haven’t played matches in a while like myself, so yeah definitely happy with the performance and looking forward to what’s ahead.”
Zverev arrived in Acapulco early before the tournament got underway, and he was asked if this was to acclimatise with the unique conditions at the tournament.
“Acapulco is a very different tournament, especially with the surface and the weather,” said Zverev. “Yeah, it helps coming here early, it helps getting used to the conditions a bit more. Look today was a good match, I hope I can continue this way.”
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As well as having his father, who is his coach, at the Mexican Open, Zverev also has his daughter present with him.
After being asked whether having his daughter present in Acapulco enables him to relax more, Zverev suggested that he plans to continue playing for at least another 10 years.
“Yeah, but generally I feel like this year I want to enjoy tennis a bit more,” explained Zverev. “You know I’m getting older, I know it’s not going to last forever. I hope there’s still going to be 10 more years for me, for sure, but it’s about enjoying it for sure and definitely doing it this week.”
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Zverev would be 38 years old, the same year as Novak Djokovic is now, if he does follow his word and retire in 10 years, as he looks to obtain the Grand Slam title that has eluded his career so far.
The German has reached three Grand Slam finals in his career, but Zverev has been beaten in the championship match of the US Open (2020), the French Open (2024) and the Australian Open (2025).
Zverev’s best Grand Slam of the three has been the French Open, where he has won 79% of the 48 matches he has played at the tournament.
| Grand Slam | Win-loss Record | Best Result |
| Australian Open | 36-11 (77%) | Final (2025) |
| French Open | 38-10 (79%) | Final (2024) |
| Wimbledon | 16-9 (64%) | Fourth Round (2017, 2021 & 2024) |
| US Open | 28-10 (74%) | Final (2020) |
Assuming that Zverev completes the 2036 season in 10 years time, he will have another 43 Grand Slam tournaments to play in his career.
Zverev has struggled at Wimbledon, where he has never surpassed the fourth round in his nine previous attempts, so it could be argued that 11 of those major tournaments could be ruled out as big opportunities for him to win a Grand Slam.
There is also the issue of age and physicality, which is something that Djokovic has struggled with at this stage of his career.
Before he can set his sights on his goal of winning a Grand Slam again, with the next major tournament of the French Open not taking place until May, Zverev will have his focus on his next match in Acapulco.
Zverev’s next match at the Mexican Open is against Miomir Kecmanovic, who he has beaten in two of their three previous meetings.
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