Alexander Zverev has acknowledged that his decision to compete in the South American Golden Swing following his run to the Australian Open final was, in hindsight, a misstep.
Coming off a career-boosting performance in Melbourne, Zverev entered the Golden Swing as a favorite on clay. However, he exited both the Argentina Open and Rio Open in the quarterfinals—falling to local stars Francisco Cerúndolo and Francisco Comesaña respectively.
With Jannik Sinner serving a three-month suspension, Zverev saw a rare window to close the gap to the World No. 1 ranking. Though the points difference was significant, the calendar ahead seemed promising, with four Masters 1000 events and other opportunities to rack up points.
But the gamble didn’t pay off.
Returning to hard courts, Zverev continued to struggle. He was knocked out in the quarterfinals at the Mexican Open, suffered a shock first-round loss at Indian Wells, and only managed a Round of 16 finish in Miami—despite being the top seed in each tournament.
The European clay swing hasn’t been much kinder. Zverev lost to Matteo Berrettini in a three-set battle in his first outing, compounding his recent form dip. As a result, he has dropped a spot in the ATP rankings following Carlos Alcaraz’s title win in Monte-Carlo.
Reflecting on the Golden Swing decision, Zverev said:
“I’ve said many times that tennis is like any other sport or business. I didn’t make the decision to play in South America after the Australian Open; I made that decision six or seven months earlier.”
“It wasn’t the smartest decision to go to South America a week after the Australian Open on a different surface. That’s clear to me.”
Zverev now faces a tough path ahead. It’s mathematically impossible for him to catch Sinner in the immediate future. With the Italian set to return at the Italian Open—where he has no points to defend—Zverev’s task becomes even more difficult. He not only needs to defend his title in Rome but also a runner-up finish at Roland Garros, all while Alcaraz is also defending a heavy points load through the clay swing.
As things stand, the No. 1 dream remains out of reach, and Zverev may be left to wonder how different things might have looked had he skipped the Golden Swing and focused on maintaining momentum post-Australia.
