Top 10 Outstanding facts about Alexander Zverev

Top 10 Outstanding facts about Alexander Zverev

Alexander “Sascha” Alexandrovich Zverev is a rising German professional tennis player who is famously known for beating world number 3 and US open champion Stan Wawrinka at the St. Petersburg open 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. With the win, he become the first teenager to win an ATP title since Marion Cilic in 2006.

Sascha has been a permanent fixture in the top 10 since July 2017 with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranging him as high as world No. 2. Zverev’s career highlights include titles at the 2018 and the 2021 ATP Finals, and a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In this article, we see the top 10 outstanding facts about Alexander Zverev;

1. Introduction to tennis

Zverev practicing at the 2013 Boodles Challenge – Wikipedia

Sascha began playing tennis at a very young age, he has said, “One day, when I was I think one year and five months old, I just picked up a little racket, and I was starting to push the ball all over our apartment, and since then, they took me out on the court. I enjoy it still, I enjoyed it back then.”

When he was five years old, he started to play tennis at least half an hour each day. At this time, he also played hockey and football, but decided to focus only on tennis around the age of 12 after an early-round loss at a high-level international junior tournament in Florida.

2. Zverev’s competitive nature

Sascha with his older brother Mischa in 2013 – Wikipedia

Sascha was extremely competitive as a child. His brother Mischa said, “He would not understand or accept that he was losing” when the two would play against each other. He would never want to leave the court unless he won the match.

Zverev during an interview also remarked of his brother, “We’re very competitive together. Everything we do has to be some kind of competition. My success has a lot to do with Mischa. He was the one who always used to practise with me when I was little, when I was a junior”

“Also, since I started playing well, we’ve had a lot of very long and very intensive practice sessions, which I think helped his game and mine.”

3. Zverev comes from a family with a tennis background

Tennis racket, balls and shoes on blue background – Unsplash

Alexander “Sascha” Zverev was born on 20 April 1997 in Hamburg, Germany to Russian parents, Irina Zvereva and Alexander Mikhailovich Zverev.

His father, Alexander Mikhailovich Zverev, is a former professional tennis player from Russia who competed for the Soviet Union and was ranked as high as No. 175 in the world.

His mother, Irina Zvereva, is a former professional tennis player who represented the Soviet Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States and was ranked was known for her one-handed backhand.

Zverev’s brother, Mikhail “Mischa” Alexandrovich Zverev, is a professional tennis player who achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 25 on 24 July 2017.

4. Record Holder

Zverev at the 2017 Washington Open – Wikipedia

Zverev is the only active player outside the Big Four with five Masters 1000 titles. He has won 19 titles on the ATP Tour, including five Masters 1000 titles, in Rome and Canada in 2017, in Madrid in 2018 and 2021 and in Cincinnati also in 2021.

The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The ATP Masters, along with the ATP Finals, constitute the most coveted trophies in men’s tennis after the four majors, hence the tournaments are collectively known as the “Big Titles” (alongside the Olympics)

The Big Four is a common nickname in tennis for the Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. They are widely hailed as the three most successful male players in tennis history.

5. A very rich young man

RM 030 with the characteristic Richard Mille case shape watch – Wikipedia

Zverev has won over USD 25 million in prize money over the course of his career. His endorsement deals have increased his net worth to an estimated USD 17 million over the years.

Apart from being sponsored by Head and Adidas for his racquets and on-court apparel, he has a few multi-million-dollar endorsements deals with few giant conglomerates.

He has serves as a brand ambassador for Richard Mille, a high-end Swiss watchmaker. Peugeot, Z Zegna, and Rolex are among his other sponsors.

6. Zverev is diabetic

Medical insulin and an injection -Unsplash

Sascha was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of three and a half. For a long time, he hid his diagnosing, as he was ashamed. When questioned by a journalist, he responded with, “Who told you that? No that’s not true.”

In 2021, Zverev opened up about his illness to the French sport daily, “I have the player in my racquet bag. The ATP authorizes me to use it (…) I control myself at each change of side. I don’t have an insulin pump, I do the injections myself. I always have my insulin pen with me“

When establishing his charity, he added, “As a type 1 diabetic myself, I want to encourage children with diabetes to never give up on their dreams no matter what others might say to you,”

7. Zverev’s extending a helping hand

Zverev playing in the 2022 Monte Carlo Masters – Wikipedia

Zverev pledged to donate his entire prize money to bushfire relief at the Australian Open in January 2020.

In 2022, he lunched the Alexander Zverev Foundation, which will support children with diabetes and provide medication for those in developing countries with the condition.

On his official Instagram page Zverev wrote, “Today, the Alexander Zverev Foundation has officially come to life, supporting children with type 1 diabetes and helping people prevent type 2 diabetes by living a healthy and active life. Our mission is to provide insulin and life-saving medicine to children in developing countries and those in need.”

8. Making an impression

Pharrell Williams performing – Wikipedia

At the 2017 US Open, the 6’6 German Zverev created a social media storm by wearing a throwback outfit for his US Open first round clash which had fans asking one question: Bjorn Borg, or Will Ferrell?.

Zverev clarified, “Pharrell Williams, who was sitting in my box in the beginning of the match, designed my outfit. So he came up with the socks and obviously I didn’t want to disappoint him and put them down while he was watching me so that’s what it looked like.”

9. Speaks multiple languages

Zverev at the 2016 US Open – Wikipedia

When we talk about athletes, we’re often focused on their batting average, their running speed, their weight class or their touchdown record.

Whether through their own curiosity or through the necessity of playing a sport where you’re constantly competing in other countries, athletes can occasionally flex on the court of language as well.

In addition to an impressive tennis career, Zverev speaks fluent German, English and Russian.

10. 2021 pandemic did not stop him

Zverev at the 2021 French Open – Wikipedia

Zverev earned a 59-15 record during the 2021 season, with his biggest victories coming at the Tokyo Olympics, where he captured the singles gold medal, and at the Nitto ATP Finals.

He became the only fourth player in event history to defeat the world’s top two players in the FedEx ATP Rankings in the semi-finals and the championship match at the Nitto ATP Finals.

To add to it, he was named Germany’s Sportsman of the Year.