Injury drama at Alexander Zverev
“There were seven torn ligaments, not three”
The German tennis star Alexander Zverev gives new insights into his serious injury from last summer. And he says why he doesn’t expect big jumps in Melbourne.
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Alexander Zverev is back on the tennis court. He is currently training in Melbourne for the Australian Open.
The injury drama at Alexander Zverev (25) was apparently more difficult than expected.
As the German tennis player revealed in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag” shortly before the start of the Australian Open, he tore seven ligaments in June 2022 in the semifinals of the French Open against Rafael Nadal.
This hurts to watch: Here Zverev bends after the rally(00:32)
“It was always reported that three ligaments were torn. But there were seven, three of whom underwent surgery,” explains the Olympic champion. After the shock, Zverev himself mentioned three torn outer ligaments in an Instagram post.
“Then the edema got worse”
As a result of the injury, the tennis star was out for seven months. Although everything had healed after just seven weeks, fluid had accumulated in the bone marrow. “But that wasn’t communicated to me, so from today’s perspective I started rehabilitation and training too early, which made the edema worse,” the 25-year-old continues.
He is now making his Grand Slam comeback in Australia. The torn ligament threw him back a long way – he doesn’t feel in top form for the tournament yet: “It’s clear that I won’t win the Australian Open in my current condition. But that doesn’t mean I can’t find my form after a game or two. Then the self-confidence increases and then we’ll see.”
This is how Zverev trains: Despite injury not lost the sense of humor(00:17)
The former world number two sees the Australian Open as a kind of restart. In the first round in Melbourne on Tuesday, the German meets Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas. (mbi)