"They want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament" - Slower courts in Shanghai forces Alexander Zverev to call out tournament organisers

Alexander Zverev had some strong feelings about the courts, with him feeling that they are predominantly becoming slower to create more Carlos Alcaraz - Jannik Sinner finals. He is the latest tennis player to voice his opinion on the topic.

The German is currently among the top tennis stars competing in China, currently participating in the Shanghai Masters, getting off to the perfect start with a straight sets victory over Valentin Royer. The number two seed is yet to face another Frenchman in the form of Arthur Rinderknech.

He is looking to make up for the missed opportunity in Beijing, losing out in the quarter-finals to former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev. He will be hoping to clinch a second title of 2025, and first Masters 1000 title since the Paris Masters at the end of 2024. However, if he wants to claim that title, there is a high chance that he would need to take down world number two Sinner, who he believes is getting an on-court advantage.

The courts in Shanghai have been described as much slower than prior years. Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur have commentated on this change, not relaying a positive message about it. The German is the latest to offer his opinion on the slow court.

“I hate when it’s the same, to be honest," Zverev said. "And I think that the tournament directors are going towards that direction because, obviously, they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament, and that’s what they prefer.

“But I’ve been on tour for over 10 years and we always had different surfaces, we always had tournaments which you liked and we always had tournaments which you didn’t like so much, you know You couldn’t play the same tennis the same way on a grass court, hard court, clay court. Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don’t like it, I’m not a fan of it, I think tennis needs different game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety, and I think we’re lacking that right now.”

20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer first stated this, putting the finger on the organisers for this change. Tournament organisers would prefer a showdown between the two best players in the world, with the pair enduring previous classics. The tournament organisers have been dealt a blow if they were searching for this, with Carlos Alcaraz pulling out of the event after tasting glory in Tokyo at the Japan Open. This means that another showdown between the pair will not occur in China.

Sinner has also had an opinion on the changes in court speed. "The hard courts, they are at times very similar. At times there are some small changes, couple of changes," Sinner said. "One tournament that comes up a bit is Indian Wells because the ball bounces very high. It's a bit different how the ball reacts with the court. But yeah, if not, we have more or less similar game situations on the court, yes. This is how it is already since a long time, like this. I don't know if there is going to be a change or not. I'm just a player who tries to adapt myself in the best possible way. I feel like I'm doing a good job in this. But let's see what the future can give us in every tournament.”

Zverev's recent performances against the big two do not make for great reading. He has played Alcaraz once this year, losing in straight sets in the Cincinnati Open semi-final. The year before in the same event he lost against Sinner, who went on to clinch glory in the event. Their most recent clash came in the Australian Open final, in which Sinner swept his opponent aside to win his second Grand Slam title in Melbourne.