“Life is much harder for children in Africa than for a tennis player at Wimbledon”: Alexander Zverev’s brother react to mental health confession

Mischa Zverev, the brother of world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, responded to his sibling’s emotional remarks following a first-round loss at Wimbledon. The younger Zverev exited the tournament early after a five-set defeat to Arthur Rinderknech, and his post-match comments sparked concern over his mental health.

The German admitted he was “trying to find a way to get out of this hole” and suggested he might consider therapy for the first time in his life. “I’ve never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy in everything that I do. It’s not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis as well,” Zverev said.

This marked his first Grand Slam opening-round loss since Wimbledon 2019. Despite reaching three Grand Slam finals and making at least the quarterfinals on 15 occasions, Zverev has never advanced past the fourth round at Wimbledon in his nine appearances.

His brother Mischa, a former world No. 25, spoke in an interview with Amazon Prime Germany, addressing the situation. “He’s doing well,” said the 38-year-old. “He has lost. Of course you’re sad and disappointed, but that’s all part of it. But he’s fine, not like the last few years when he twisted his ankle or anything. It’s sad. It’s a shame that he lost.

“I don’t know what [his statements] do to me, this is the first time I’ve heard that. If he says something about it, it’s good, I’m mostly a listener. Nothing major has been signalled, I’m learning a lot of things from you too.

“I’ve just been to see him. He seemed to be okay. We talked about various things, including positive things, including the match. We also talked about things that are fun and that we can do in the coming weeks. But it all seemed positive.”

“Well, life in many countries is very, very hard,” Mischa Zverev added. “I think life is much harder for many children in Africa than it is for a tennis player at Wimbledon. Having my own children I’ve become very down-to-earth and think very rational about it. Of course the life is hard, but there are millions of other people who have a hard life, but we are in the public eye very much.

“Of course I look at everything. But a day or two after an event, we get together again and talk about the issue again. A few hours or a few minutes after an event, people are still completely different. I observe and then try to help, if I can help.

“The year started with the final in Australia, then immediately to South America, he really wanted to keep playing. And then one thing really led to another. A few close losses, then it’s also an emotional rollercoaster. You imagined the year would be different and now it’s turned out differently,” Mischa added. “Then you feel something that you perhaps didn’t even realise before. Then these things come up and then you just say it. Maybe you talk to him in five days and he says, ‘you know what, that’s how it was at that moment.’ I take it all in and I take it seriously.”