The Zverev brothers are back with another family tale. As he steps onto the courts of the 2024 Shanghai Masters, Alexander Zverev is spilling the family secrets while battling formidable opponents on the court. He was recently sidelined from a hospital stint and missed out on the China Open in Beijing. But Zverev’s journey is anything but ordinary. Growing up in a household steeped in sports, his relationship with his parents had its pros and cons. And in the tennis landscape, few stories are as captivating as that of Zverev and his family dynamics.

During an episode on his podcast ‘A BIS Z’ Alexander is joined by his brother and co-host, Mischa Zverev. As the brothers delve into his journey in professional tennis among other topics. Their guests, Carmen and Robert Geiss, asked them to shed light on a rather exciting subject, “How was it for you two? Did you also play it out like mom and dad?”

Zverev shared a humorous yet insightful reflection on his upbringing. Both sons trained with their father, Alexander Mikhailovich Zverev, through their formative years. However, Alex reveals that Zverev Sr was much stricter with his older brother than him, “The reason my relationship with my father works so well, still as a coach and companion in tennis, is because he had Mischa before and that strictness helped him a lot. He relaxed with me after 20 years. He had enough” he explained.

Being the firstborn, Mischa really felt the heat from their dad’s intense training methods, which were all about timed drills and strict repetitions. A classic Soviet-style coaching if you will. On the flip side, Alexander had a different experience. His upbringing was more balanced, allowing him to explore his potential without the same weight of expectations, he added, “It was funny, I must say, because Dad was much stricter with you. That’s how it is.” 

But there was a twist, while their father was lenient with Alexander, their mother, Irina, also a former professional player, was not. “Dad was also out and about with you a lot more. He often went to tournaments with you when I was growing up and I would say, Mom was the stricter one with me.” Despite Alexander’s good chemistry with his father, he had spilled a surprising fact about their relationship.

Last month he had revealed that he barely spends any time with his father beyond the court. “Well, off the court I just spend zero time with my father, so that’s a starting point. We have enough of each other on the court. But look, I mean, we’re all grown-ups. We all have a family ourselves. We all know how it works to have a family,” Alexander had said during the US Open. But when it comes to coaching, the 2021 Olympic champion has repeatedly gone back to his father.

Zverev had worked with several celebrity coaches in the past. He hired former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in July 2017, but their collaboration lasted only six months. Zverev then included Ivan Lendl in his team in August 2018. The former world No. 1 spent one year in the German’s team. Sascha had also hired David Ferrer to work alongside his father in July 2020. But the pair split in January 2021. He was then taken over by his father. In May 2022, Alexander started working with Sergi Bruguera.

But they split in May last year. At that point Alexander had explained why he preferred his father over Bruguera. “My father, Sergi and myself we don’t have the same opinion of how I should approach my Tennis; how I should play tennis after my injury. I had another opinion. I want to go back on my path and I want to be in this familiar environment again. The different opinions were perhaps a bit bigger than we thought after the injury,” he had explained. Alexander believes that he and his father, having no difference in opinion are very important to him, referring to how bad things have gone wrong with some other players.

“I know that some players if they have their parents as coaches, they have quite a toxic relationship. There’s a lot of fighting going on. There’s a lot of arguing. There’s a lot of, you know, just not healthy stuff I would say. Where I have to say that’s not the case with us at all. We understand each other off the court the moment we get off it, and on the court it’s about practice, it’s about improving,” Alexander had said. One recent instance of this is Stephanos Tsisipas’ fallout with his father Apostolos.

It came to the fore at its worst during this year’s Canadian Open, in the Greek star’s match against the Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori in R2 (which the former lost).

Midway through the match, Tsitsipas shouted at his father asking him to “immediately leave.” Revealing deep-rooted problems in the relationship, Tsisipas’ former physiotherapist Jerome Bianchi had said earlier in September, “Their way of operating is harmful. Every time Stefanos wanted to break up with his father, his mother ran and said, ‘You can’t do this to him, he dedicated his life to you’. And he found himself feeling guilty. He realizes that he is getting on in age and that his career has not been what it should have been.”

Evidently, for Alexander and his brother, such bad blood is nowhere there. While both players experienced different sides of their caregivers, the latter did something right. During his time Mischa peaked in his career in 2017. Reaching a career highest of 25th rank before taking a break from the sport in 2021. Incidentally, in 2021, while Zverev was under the coaching of his father, he won 6 ATP titles including Olympic gold and ATP Finals, 300th career win. However, his season this year has been a little turbulent.

Alexander opens up about his struggles with health this season

After the 2024 Laver Cup, Zverev was hospitalized due to lung inflammation, causing him to withdraw from the China Open. Despite returning for the Shanghai Masters, he expressed fatigue during a press conference before the tournament, stating, “I still feel like I’m perhaps a little more tired than usual. But either I’m ending my season now – or I’m playing as well as I can.”

Despite his condition, he took up the challenge on the court. He shared that his doctors assured him that playing won’t hinder his recovery. “It’s nothing that will delay the recovery or will make it worse if I play,” Zverev explained. “That’s why I’m here, and I’m happy to give my 100 percent of what I have.”

After successfully defeating Mattia Bullucci and Tallon Griekspoor in the first two rounds, fate was not on his side during his encounter with David Goffin, leading to an early exit from the tournament. Zverev aims to finish the season strong, targeting a spot in the year-end top two of the ATP rankings. Despite the challenges, he’s ready to tackle his matches in Shanghai.