"We get a lot of hate": Alexander Zverev shares details of receiving abuse on social media

Germany’s Alexander Zverev has opened up about the abuse received by tennis players on social media and how it impacts them. Trolling on social media has increased significantly in the recent past, and players from different sports have often talked about it.

Those comments have impacted certain individuals so much that they have even taken a break from the sport, sometimes for an indefinite period. Current world number three Zverev has become the latest high-profile player to discuss it while talking to the media ahead of the French Open. The 28-year-old stated how difficult it has been for him to deal with the abuse he received on social media.

"These days, social media is more important than anything else,” he said. “We get a lot of hate. For us tennis players, the insults we are exposed to daily online and on social media are extreme, because a lot of it happens via hidden messages, direct messages and the like. If I had withdrawn (from Hamburg), I would have been accused of many things. I would probably have been accused of just taking the money and leaving after one match. That I wasn't taking the tournament seriously, and so on. But that's not true; I lost because I was sick. Tennis has a strong culture of blame among fans and also on social media.”

Zverev will begin his campaign at the Roland Garros on Monday with a fixture against America’s Learner Tien in the round of 128. The Hamburg-born star will be hoping that he returns to his very best in a competition where he did relatively well in the recent past. In the last four editions of the French Open, Zverev played in the semifinals in each of them. Last year, he finished as the runner-up after losing to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2.