World No. 3 Alexander Zverev reveals unsettling moment just before French Open debut

Alexander Zverev is among the top contenders to win the Roland Garros title this year. The German star was a finalist last season and, while not arriving at the peak of his form, enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed. However, his focus heading into the Grand Slam was shaken by a rare and unsettling experience during his trip to France.

After competing in the Hamburg Open, where he was knocked out in the round of 16 by Alexandre Muller, Zverev remained in Germany to focus on physical recovery ahead of the season’s second Grand Slam. He had planned to arrive in Paris on Thursday.

“We were supposed to fly yesterday evening at 6:45 p.m., and we took off from Hamburg,” the World No. 3 explained during a press conference on Friday. But something unexpected happened during the flight: “We got struck by lightning. We had to do an emergency landing back in Hamburg.”

While it may sound terrifying, Alexander remained calm and described how it felt in the moment. “It made a little noise,” he said, before adding: “No real wobbling or anything… It was a first-time experience.” On board the same flight were two other players set to compete at Roland Garros — Czech player Jiri Lehecka and American Brandon Nakashima — and all of them arrived safely in Paris.

Zverev will face Learner Tien on his Roland Garros debut

Zverev aims to rediscover top form in France

Despite holding one of the ATP Ranking’s top spots, Alexander Zverev has struggled to find consistency in recent months. Aside from capturing the title at the Bavarian Open in April, he has recorded underwhelming results in his last nine tournaments, including first-round exits at the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Monte Carlo.

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Still, he expressed relative satisfaction with his most recent outing at the Hamburg Open. Although he fell in the round of 16 to Muller, he later explained that he had been ill the night before and still felt he met the competitive level required. “I think everybody that knows tennis saw I wasn’t at 100%,” he said earlier this week.

After last season’s impressive run to the French Open final, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz, the German star now looks to recapture his best form in this year’s edition. His first test won’t be easy — he will open the tournament on Monday against Learner Tien, who defeated him earlier this year in Acapulco.