Alexander Zverev hints that tournament directors give Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner an advantage

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are currently dominating the men’s tour. The four Grand Slam titles this season have been split between the two, with the Spaniard winning Roland Garros and the US Open, while the Italian claimed the Australian Open and Wimbledon. However, Alexander Zverev appeared to suggest that both superstars may be getting some help from tournament directors.

A few days ago, Roger Federer commented on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast that “the tournament directors have allowed the ball speed and the court speed that every week is basically the same.” The Swiss legend pointed out that this setup allows players to win across different surfaces with a similar style of play — something that wasn’t possible during his era, when court speeds varied significantly.

Against this backdrop, Zverev said he believes tournament directors have made these adjustments because they want Alcaraz and Sinner to reach the finals, giving them an advantage by maintaining conditions that suit their games.

“I hate that court speeds are the same in all tournaments. I know that the directors of all major events are moving in that direction because they want Jannik and Carlos to perform well and potentially reach the final,” Zverev said after his win over Valentine Royer at the Shanghai Masters.

Alexander Zverev in action during the 2025 Shanghai Masters. (Hu Chengwei/Getty Images)

The German added that today’s tennis lacks the surface-specific diversity it once had. “You couldn’t play the same tennis the same way on grass, hard, or clay courts. Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don’t like it, I’m not a fan of it. I think tennis needs game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety, and I think we’re lacking that right now,” Zverev added.

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What did Federer say?

Federer was also critical of the issue, noting that during his era, the differences between surfaces were much more pronounced, forcing players to adapt their styles accordingly. He suggested that tournament directors today prefer to see Alcaraz and Sinner in the finals, so they set up conditions that favor them.

“The tournament directors think: ‘I prefer to have Sinner and Alcaraz in the final.’ In a way, it works for tennis,” Federer told Roddick on the American’s podcast. “In my era, only about 12 tournaments really mattered, so everyone played on their favorite surface, and sometimes we didn’t face each other — those were the best matches: attacker versus counterpuncher”.

“Now, however, everyone plays in a similar way, and that’s because tournament directors have allowed the ball and court speeds to make every week practically the same. We’d love to see Alcaraz or Sinner on super-fast courts and then on super-slow courts to really see the difference,” he added.