"Stop making excuses": Rennae Stubbs lambasts Alexander Zverev for making controversial comments about tournament directors tampering with court speed

The ex-coach of the former world number one Serena Williams, Rennae Stubbs, has lambasted Germany’s Alexander Zverev for his comments, where he alleged the tournament directors were tampering with the courts to ensure finals between Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Zverev made those controversial remarks during the ongoing Shanghai Masters after beating France’s Valentin Royer in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4. He said after the match that the court speeds are the same because tournament directors want a particular outcome. He also calls for more variety on the playing surfaces.

"I hate that court speeds are the same in all tournaments," said Zverev. "I know that the directors of all major events are moving in that direction because they want Jannik and Carlos to perform well and potentially reach the final. I've been on tour for 12 years now and we always had different surfaces. Tennis needs a little bit of variety and I think we're lacking that right now."

Zverev was actually not the first high-profile tennis player to make such comments. Former world number one Roger Federer made similar comments earlier, claiming something similar. However, Zverev becomes the first high-profile active player to accuse the tournament directors of going this route.

Sinner, who was taking part in the same event and secured his first win against Daniel Altmaier, was asked by a reporter about what Zverev said. The reigning world number two, who was the top-seeded player in the competition, was shocked to hear those comments coming from an active player. “Wow, I don't know what to say on that one, to be honest," said Sinner. “We [Sinner and Alcaraz] — or at least I — don't make the courts.”

Stubbs, in the recent episode of her podcast, The Rennae Stubbs Podcast, lambasted Zverev for making such comments. Stubbs highlighted that Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominance is men’s tennis is so evident because they keep winning on every surface.

"Is Zverev joking?" said Stubbs. "If he thinks they are doing it to help Carlos and Jannik, here is a good example ... the Australian Open this year was played on medium. Jannik wins it, Zverev was smoked. Wimbledon rolls around, it is grass. Guess who wins it? Jannik Sinner. The French Open rolls around, the same as it has been for the last hundred years, Carlos wins it match point against Sinner in the final. The US Open that is notoriously medium to fast, who wins it? Carlos Alcaraz. Zverev, where were you? Like dude, these guys win on every surface." 

Stubbs then went on to highlight that Zverev’s biggest problem is his lack of ability to adapt to different conditions and circumstances, whereas, on the contrary, the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner are masters of adapting themselves to situations where they are not entirely comfortable.

"You put the indoors, on a slow court, on god damn an ice rink, they are going to win because they can adapt," said Stubbs. "Both of them can flatten out the ball, serve unbelievable, come into the net, slice, have perfect forehands and backhands with no weakness. You should appreciate the fact that it is a slow court. He loses to Rinderknecht (who is) known for serving, volleying and coming into the net. He had more variety than you. He utilised all the tricks in the bag to beat you. You f---ed up. You came in on the wrong approach shots, and your forehand went south when it mattered. Stop making excuses. I would argue that players that do come into the net and are very good at the net are the difference makers. Jannik knows he has to come in and Carlos knows that he has to be able to come in and have the drop shot against these guys. They are trying to change the way that they play the game and we've seen this week in Shanghai, where the drop shot has been really effective because the court is quite slow."

Stubbs also asked Zverev’s coaching staff to have a word with him and ask him to stop making silly comments in public. "It just makes me laugh because he digs himself into holes," said Stubbs. "If I was coaching him, I would say 'we need to have a talk. You need to stop saying things publicly'. He's like 'I'm going to win the French Open or whatever' and then it's 'oh, he's bitching about the court surfaces', like do better."