Zverev on becoming world #1: "I'd be an idiot to claim I was as good as Sinner when he was healthy, but physical fitness and health are an integral part of the sport"
posted by u/Dependent-Effect6077 · 2026-10-30 15:50 UTC
## Top comments
1. u/Hainault · 2026-10-30 15:51 UTC
He's not wrong.
Next.
2. u/Ludishomi · 2026-10-30 16:28 UTC
Worst person you know good point . Jpg
3. u/Low-Honey-3657 · 2026-10-30 16:29 UTC
I actually do think Zverev is active in r/Tennis because he's response lately tend to lean in to the general Consensus in thread posts comments about him.
4. u/buttcrispy · 2026-10-30 16:37 UTC
Alright which one of you bitches is Sascha Zverev
5. u/Ludishomi · 2026-10-30 19:12 UTC
Ahem. He prefers ALEXANDER. He hates Sascha
6. u/Zaphenzo · 2026-10-30 17:02 UTC
lol if Zverev ever logged into r/tennis, he would quickly log back off.
7. u/Kunemlavt24 · 2026-10-30 16:23 UTC
He’s not wrong without injury’s everyone would be saying Rafa is the goat after he missed 16 slams in his career compared to Novak missing 3. Part of being a pro athlete is staying healthy and being able to compete and Zverev isn’t wrong he’s been able to do that just as novak did when Fed and nadal couldn’t.
8. u/GarySteinfieldd · 2026-10-30 16:30 UTC
The number of people that don’t get that is insane. Like how can you expect Nadal to play at that level without getting injured
9. u/PleasantNightLongDay · 2026-10-30 16:43 UTC
By that same token, Novak has literally dedicated his play style to be one that doesn’t kill his body. I think this element is not seen by most fans.
Things don’t work in a vacuum. It seems to be a mix between playing as hard as to can without killing your body and finding that balance
It seems that Zverev has found that balance really well.
10. u/Outrageous-Ad1645 · 2026-10-30 17:07 UTC
huh?? Novak's playstyle is literally taking your body to the maximum, long rallies and marathon matches. His conditioning to outlast his opponents is the key to his success, it is incredibly taxing on the body. I say this as a Nadal fan btw
11. u/Lord_GP340 · 2026-10-30 17:19 UTC
Going to the limit in terms of cardio is different from going to the limit in terms of biomechanics. Pushing your cardio to the limit doesn't (potentially) accumulate career ending damage (unless you have a preexisting condition) like certain motions in the ball striking can do
12. u/kodutta7 · 2026-10-30 17:04 UTC
In fairness many of Rafa's injuries stemmed from a genetic foot issue that was not caused by his playstyle. Maybe it was exacerbated, but he would have had struggles no matter how he played.
13. u/overtired27 · 2026-10-30 17:15 UTC
I thought the Rafa documentary said that that foot issue was caused by overtraining as a kid. Googling it now it says that Mueller-Weiss syndrome isn’t considered a genetic or inherited disease.
14. u/kodutta7 · 2026-10-30 17:20 UTC
Mueller-Weiss syndrome
Oh interesting, apparently it's idiopathic so we don't really know what causes it.
15. u/overtired27 · 2026-10-30 17:28 UTC
No, but they said something about it arising in other kids who overexerted themselves while their foot was still growing. The quote was then something like “Rafa got it because he is Rafa” i.e. from his crazy levels of dedication even at that age. And having an uncle who pushed him so hard I guess.
16. u/Lisaismyfav · 2026-10-30 18:24 UTC
But Zverev has diabetes too
17. u/Select_Fly753 · 2026-10-30 17:56 UTC
Maybe by dialing down the number of non-slams to focus on clay tournaments and slams
18. u/LeftHandedScissor · 2026-10-30 16:51 UTC
The best ability is availability
19. u/fayemoonlight · 2026-10-30 16:54 UTC
Some of us do still say Rafa is the GOAT regardless but that’s not the point lol
20. u/Gophurkey · 2026-10-30 16:57 UTC
VAMOS!!!