Alexander Zverev’s 2026 season has changed the long-running conversation around his career. By winning his first Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and the US Open, the German has moved from the category of nearly men into tennis’ elite. For years, he was discussed as one of the best players never to lift a major, but those arguments no longer carry the same force.

Even so, his success has not come without debate. Some have argued that Zverev benefited from the absences of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz withdrew from Roland Garros because of a wrist injury, while Sinner missed the US Open with a knee injury, and Zverev took advantage to claim both titles.

Mischa Zverev has now pushed back against that line of criticism, saying the injuries underline a broader issue. “Why weren’t they there? Because they were injured,” said Zverev in an interview with Sport1. “Why do we get injured? Because, in some way, you’re not strong enough, or because you’ve done too much. Because you didn’t rest when you needed to.”

He also pointed to his brother’s return from injury in the 2023 season as an example of what can be possible. “Some people said he would never return to the level he had before. And instead, he came back and played like this. The possibility exists, we’re working toward it, and we’ll see what lies ahead.

Mischa Zverev also addressed criticism of his brother’s ball bouncing at the US Open. “It’s like when you win a Grand Slam tournament and someone complains about the color of your socks,” joked Zverev. “When someone wins and succeeds, there will always be someone saying: ‘Personally, I don’t like this or that.’”

Zverev has already returned to competition, beating Matej Dodig and Dino Prizmic in straight sets at the Davis Cup as Germany defeated Croatia. His next stop is the Laver Cup, where he will represent Team Europe alongside Alcaraz, Jakub Mensik, Rafael Jodar, Flavio Cobolli, and Casper Ruud.

After that, he will move on to the ATP Tour’s Asian swing, beginning at the China Open in Beijing, an ATP 500 event. With a strong chance of rising to world No 1, the rest of his 2026 season may yet match the first nine months.

Carlos Alcaraz will front Team Europe at the 2026 Laver Cup as the side attempts to take back the trophy, with Team World aware of how difficult the matchup has been for every member of their squad.

“We will do everything possible to bring the title back to Europe. We failed last year, so we’ll do everything we can to reclaim the trophy,” the world No 3 said after arriving in London for the ninth edition of the event.

Alcaraz is set to line up alongside world No 2 and two-time Grand Slam winner Alexander Zverev, Flavio Cobolli, Rafael Jodar, Jakub Mensik and Casper Ruud.

Team World will be represented by Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien, Brandon Nakashima, Alexander Bublik and Francisco Cerundolo at the O2 Arena.

Last season in San Francisco, Team World won the event 15-9 for their fourth title in five years. Even so, Team Europe still hold the overall edge in the rivalry, leading 5-3.

For Alcaraz, this will be his third Laver Cup appearance, and his record in the competition remains strong. He has lost only one singles match, and across the ATP Tour he holds a commanding head-to-head advantage over all six Team World players.

In his 2024 debut, the Spaniard beat Ben Shelton and Fritz. A year later, Fritz defeated him before Alcaraz responded by beating Cerundolo to finish with a 3-1 record.

Against the six Team World players combined, Alcaraz has played 19 matches and lost only once, leaving him with an 18-1 record. That lone defeat came against Fritz at the 2025 tournament.

His head-to-heads show the same pattern. He leads Fritz 5-1, de Minaur 6-0, Cerundolo 4-0, Nakashima 2-0 and Bublik 1-0. He has not yet played Tien.

Team World may at least draw some encouragement from Alcaraz’s most recent defeat, which came against Ben Shelton at the US Open in four sets. Shelton was initially due to play in London, but withdrew after a demanding spell that included a runner-up finish at the US Open a fortnight ago and a Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic last week.

Taylor Fritz has given a clear picture of how difficult it is for top players to trim their schedules without paying a price. For him, the issue is not simply workload, but the structure of the ATP calendar itself. If a player chooses to skip mandatory tournaments, Fritz says the result can be a “serious disadvantage”.

Over the last four seasons, the American has typically logged close to 70 matches between the ATP Tour and Grand Slams, building the consistency of a solid top-10 player. This season, though, the 28-year-old has also dealt with knee tendinitis, which has kept him out for stretches of time. Any period away from competition carries risk, especially when rivals are ready to collect the ranking points that are on offer.

The debate over workload is not new. Alex De Minaur has previously argued for a shorter schedule, and that conversation has only grown louder with Masters 1000 events now stretched across much of two weeks. Former two-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud has also criticized the ranking system, describing it as a “rat race”, with players feeling pressure to enter mandatory events even when injured.

The offseason remains brief, with only a few weeks between November and December before preparations for the next campaign begin. Although the ATP has reduced the required ATP 500 events from five to four and lowered the maximum number of tournaments used for rankings from 19 to 18 for 2026, the burden remains significant. Missing mandatory events also means missing out on the end-of-season bonus pool.

Fritz has already felt that calculation this year. He skipped Acapulco because it “didn’t make sense” to add it to a calendar that already included Dallas, Delray Beach, Indian Wells, and Miami. He said on The Big T podcast, “No matter how much I try to shorten my calendar, it’s still going to be a lot. It’s really tough.

“You need to play mandatory 500s and 1000s. If you want to miss the mandatory 1000s and take the penalties for not playing the 500s, I’d say you’re putting yourself at a serious disadvantage.

“My schedule is long but I’m only playing my mandatory 500s and 1000s and then two or three 250s throughout the year. It’s very tough to shorten it to be honest.”

For players lower in the rankings, the problem is even sharper. With smaller prize money and fewer resources, they do not have the same freedom to be selective as some of the game’s biggest names. The desire for a shorter season is there, but making that happen remains far more complicated. For many, it may be tennis’ biggest issue.