"It hit me in that night" - Alexander Zverev breaks silence on his bizarre Acapulco exit after multiple players fell ill

Alexander Zverev has broken his silence on his bizarre exit at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco last week. He suffered an uncharacteristic loss at the tournament, following which he was said to have stormed out of the venue.

Zverev, the 2021 champion in Acapulco, was the top seed at this year’s tournament. The German staged an escape in the first round against Matteo Arnaldi, with a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 comeback. In his second match, he failed to clinch a single set against up-and-coming American Learner Tien, who ran away with the win, 6-3, 6-4. According to journalist Ben Rothenberg, Zverev stormed out of the stadium, straight into his car, and left the venue without attending his press meet.

Alexander Zverev wasn’t the only victim that night. Alongside the World No. 2, the tournament’s next five seeds were eliminated in the second round, three of them (Casper Ruud, Tommy Paul, and Holger Rune) pulling out due to mass food poisoning.

Zverev has since traveled to Indian Wells, where he is again the top seed. The German opened up about his strange Acapulco exit for the first time during his pre-tournament press conference, confirming that he too, had fallen ill in Acapulco.

"Two out of the last three weeks (during the Latin American swing), I wasn't feeling great. Acapulco, also, a lot of players got ill there," he said. "It was a bit of an unfortunate tournament, because I felt like, especially after the first round, I felt like, okay, maybe I got through a tough match, and I can go deep in the tournament."

"But then it hit me in that night, same as a lot of other guys," he added.

Besides his early exit in Acapulco, Alexander Zverev also crashed out in the preliminary rounds of the Argentina Open and the Rio Open. He earned a mere four wins across three tournaments during the swing.

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Alexander Zverev on his forgettable Latin American campaign: "Just difficult conditions"

Alexander Zverev pictured at the ATP 500 Rio Open 2025 - Image Source: Getty

After taking a couple of weeks off following his Australian Open final loss, Alexander resumed his campaign on the claycourts of Buenos Aires instead of continuing on hardcourts. About his decision to switch surfaces, he said:

"It was a rough South American swing for me," Zverev said in the aforementioned press conference. "But, I mean, I wanted to go on clay, I wanted to play that swing. I've heard so many great things about it, so I wanted to experience it once."

The three-time Grand Slam finalist, who’s been presented with a shot at the World No. 1 ranking in light of Jannik Sinner’s absence, noted that he also fell ill in Buenos Aires and was unable to adapt to the extremely hot and humid conditions in Rio.

"You know, Buenos Aires, it was unfortunate for me because I got food poisoning there. Rio I was in a winning position and it was super, super hot, super, super humid for me there. I think just difficult conditions generally." he said.

He added:

"I also didn't play great tennis. Maybe it wasn't the right thing to do in the end, especially after reaching the finals of the Australian Open, maybe should have stuck on hard court a little longer."

Alexander Zverev begins his Indian Wells 2025 campaign on Friday, March 7. Following an opening-round bye, he faces Tallon Griekspoor in the second round.