Alexander Zverev: Struggling with his forehand—and the fear of losing
Zverev's recent losses highlight the same flaws that have hindered his pursuit of his first Grand Slam title: conservative play and a vulnerable forehand.
When looking at Alexander Zverev’s resume, a good argument can be made that he’s the best player in ATP history without a Grand Slam title. The 27-year-old is an Olympic gold medalist, a seven-time Masters 1000 champion and a two-time ATP Finals winner. He has also lost in the finals of three majors.
Zverev is a highly-talented player with some elite-level skills, and there’s still time for him to flip the script and claim that maiden major. In fact, heading into 2025, I thought there was a real chance we’d see the German in the winner’s circle at some point. After all, only Jannik Sinner won more matches (73) than the 68 victories Zverev amassed in 2024. Zverev also looked like he was on the cusp of winning last year’s French Open, as he was up two sets to one against Carlos Alcaraz in the final. But it was all Alcaraz from there, as the Spaniard won 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.
Zverev gave himself another shot at glory to start 2025, cruising to the Australian Open final thanks to an unreturnable serve and some tremendous baseline play — along with a convenient retirement from Novak Djokovic after the first set of their semifinal matchup. The problem is that Zverev eventually ran into a red-hot Sinner, and the Italian cruised to a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 win.
Losing to Sinner is nothing to be ashamed of, and a player with Zverev’s ability should be able to dust off a loss and get right back to work. But all of Zverev’s weaknesses reared their ugly heads in that match, and the result has shaken the German to his core.
After the match, a teary-eyed Zverev said, “I’m just not good enough. It’s as simple as that.” He also noted, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to lift the trophy. But I’ll keep coming back. I’ll keep trying.”
A few weeks later, Zverev walked back some of those comments, saying he was disappointed in the heat of the moment and regretted saying what he said. What he really meant was that his level in the final wasn’t good enough.
Zverev was right. His level wasn’t good enough. But he also might have been right when he spoke candidly in Melbourne. Lifting the trophy Down Under, or at any of the other Slams, could be out of the question. But that’s ultimately up to him.
Zverev needs to take a long look in the mirror and make some changes. One of those changes could be seeking the help of a sports psychologist. Perhaps he already works with someone privately, but the German needs a person that can help him block out bad thoughts in the key moments of big matches. As Kevin Nealon said in Happy Gilmore, “Lotta pressure. You gotta rise above it. You gotta harness in the good energy, block out the bad. Harness. Energy. Block. Bad.”
Then there’s the tactical stuff. Zverev is one of the best servers on the planet, and that’s a weapon that gives him a good shot at winning whenever he steps on the court. He pairs that with unreal movement for a player that stands at 6-foot-6, some excellent conditioning and one of the best backhands on the ATP Tour. But the German is just 6-6 in the 12 matches he has played since losing to Sinner in Australia, and it’s not like the more trustworthy parts of his game have been failing him. What’s getting in Zverev’s way is a shaky forehand and a lack of boldness.
In 2024, when Zverev was undeniably one of the best players in the world, the German specimen was “in attack” 27% of the time, according to TennisViz and Tennis Data Innovations. The tour-average attack number was 24%. Also, in matches Zverev has won in 2025, his “in attack” mark is 28%. Well, this season, Zverev’s overall attack number is just 26%, and it’s down at 25% in losses. Pretty simply, when Zverev is at his best, he’s putting a little more pressure on his opponents himself. He’s not sitting back and strictly hoping to extract errors out of his opponents.
A lot of that goes hand-in-hand with Zverev’s already-leaky forehand becoming even less reliable. Last season, Zverev had a forehand quality of 8.4, and that number is up at 8.7 in the German’s wins in 2025. But overall, over the course of the entire 2025 season, Zverev’s forehand quality is down at 8.0. In losses, it’s down at an appalling 7.4, which is below the tour-average mark of 7.5.
When Zverev has the forehand working, you know it. In his wins this season, Zverev’s forehand quality is 8.7, his average forehand speed is 80 mph and his shots from that wing clear the net by an average of 64 centimeters. He goes bigger, and he goes a little flatter. In losses, he doesn’t have the same force from that wing. He takes pace off his forehands, which clear the net by an average of 71 centimeters.
Zverev just doesn’t have the ability to consistently control matches from the forehand side, which is surprising considering players with his combination of size and power should be obliterating forehands. Sometimes he does. But in the most important moments in matches, Zverev tenses up and loops his forehand over the net, often hitting short balls that allow his opponents to seize control of points. Or, he completely over-hits and misses long. Over the last couple of months, we’ve seen more and more of that — even in non-tense moments. We have also seen some senseless rushes to the net, where Zverev isn’t nearly as good a volleyer as he should be with his physical tools.
Opponents now go to the court with the belief that they will have their opportunities to get the better of the German as long as he’s not having a lights-out service day. The trick has been peppering the forehand wing and hoping Zverev’s confidence isn’t there. Lately, it hasn’t been. The extreme end of that was a loss to Francisco Comesana in Rio de Janeiro in which the Argentine made Zverev hit 64.0% of his groundstrokes from the forehand side (according to Tennis Abstract) and pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season.
There’s also just a lack of fear from opponents when they get into longer rallies with the German. At the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, there was a viral 48-ball rally in Zverev’s three-set loss to Matteo Berrettini, and the Italian ended up coming out on top of it. And while it was fun to watch the two go shot for shot, displaying tremendous athleticism and resilience, there was no aggression from Zverev. Sure, he hit some spots throughout the rally, forcing Berrettini to use his legs and come up with the goods, but there weren’t any kill shots.
As Zverev looks to get his season back on track — and finally get the monkey off his back by winning his first Slam — it’ll be interesting to see how stubborn he is. Nobody can deny that easy holds, a smooth backhand and world-class counter-punching have done wonders for him. But at what point will he accept that some technical changes might be required on the forehand side? And if that’s not the case, can anybody get through to him in stressing the importance of swinging big and not being worried about the consequences? Because to this point, playing scared hasn’t helped him get over the hump. And if you’re going to lose anyway, why not do it on your own terms?
Zverev is too good not to turn this around soon, even if he changes absolutely nothing — especially now that we’re in the heart of clay season. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of him winning his third title in Munich, taking advantage of home-court advantage in the ATP’s newest 500-level event. Given everything he has dealt with off the court, playing in front of a crowd that doesn’t despise him could be exactly what he needs to find some confidence. I also love the way his game fits in Madrid, where he’s a two-time champion and can dominate matches with his serve. But what’s going to change at Roland Garros, where he’s a three-time semifinalist, was last year’s runner-up and has all the tools he needs to break through? Will it be more of the same, with Zverev cruising to the later rounds and then hoping his opponent hands him a title?
I’d like to see Zverev play with his front foot forward, rather than playing not to lose. You often hear that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well, Zverev needs to be aggressive, not insane. In the coming weeks, it’d be nice to see him put some faith in his forehand by hitting it with pace — whether that’s hitting lower, flatter and a little closer to the net, or pounding it with shape and aiming for depth (like Casper Ruud). If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But it’s better to go down swinging than to accept your fate.
Great read