"Alexander Zverev has back pain from carrying German tennis" - Andrea Petkovic

Former WTA pro Andrea Petkovic recently discussed the heavy toll of national expectations on Alexander Zverev. According to the 37-year-old, Zverev is Germany's strongest hope while he's consistently maintaining his spot in the world's top 10 rankings.

Zverev has been a top player for Germany and a major contributor to Team Europe's success in the Laver Cup. From his early days as a junior tennis pro, he proved his potential by winning the 2014 Australian Open junior singles title. Despite being unfortunate in his bid to win a Major title so far, he has kept the German flag high by securing victories over legends like Roger Federer on grass.

Petkovic recently discussed the position of Germany in tour-level tennis. According to the ex-pro, the 27-year-old now appears to be tired of carrying the weight of national expectations on his back.

“So that was super, super great and really important, honestly, for German tennis because except for Alexander Zverev, who probably has back pain by now from carrying the German tennis in the last few years, we didn't really have great results other than that. So this was really important to have a woman also do well and go far at the Australian Open," she said, in a recent episode of Tennis Channel Inside In podcast (6:30).

Alexander Zverev was left downtrodden after his loss to Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to lift the trophy but I'll keep coming back, I'll keep trying," he said, in the post match interview.

Since then, the tennis star has started his preparations for the French Open.

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Alexander Zverev pinpoints the major tournament that he could most likely win

Alexander Zverev at the Claro ATP 500 Rio Open 2025 - Day 3 - Source: Getty

Alexander Zverev recently made an optimistic statement about his chances of winning the French Open 2025. The 27-year-old mentioned how attaining glory on clay courts has always been his goal.

"It’s one of the reasons I’m here. My main focuses are the Grand Slams and I want to compete for those. Roland Garros is always kind of marked on my calendar, and a little bit because I feel like I have great chances there. Hopefully I can prove it this year," he said, ahead of his upcoming campaign in Rio.

The German's best result came in 2024 when he reached the final at Roland Garros. He also led Carlos Alcaraz by two sets to one. However, the Spaniard staged a comeback to claim the title. Zverev will be determined to go one better this time around.