The noise of the crowd fades, the matches draw close, and the pundits opine their views, this is the typical aftermath of every sports match. Yet, amid this chaos, the indecisiveness that grapples the mind of a player often goes unseen. Such is the case with Alexander Zverev. The German No. 1 has been grappling with a tough decision and has finally opted to withdraw from the ongoing Stuttgart Open.

Alexander Zverev is witnessing one of the most remarkable seasons of his career. The German star emerged victorious at the Italian Open and played some sensational matches on clay. While he suffered a heartbreak in the French Open finals, he became the first from his country to reach the finals since 1996. Amid the highs and lows, Zverev’s choice to step back is as surprising as it is significant.

The World No. 4 decided to withdraw from the Boss Open citing rest for his body. He acknowledged that his body was not ready for immediate transitioning from clay to grass and that he must spend some time away from the game. “I’ve played a lot of tennis in the last few weeks and reached the final in Paris, where I played five tough sets. I feel that my body is not ready to go from clay to grass now,” Zverev said. The German witnessed some difficult times at the Roland Garros.

While the 2024 Italian Open winner defeated some great names including the likes of Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud, his recent toil on the clay court was immense. Zverev spent a remarkable duration of 23 hours and 46 minutes on the court of Paris as he marched to the finals. The last match against Carlos Alcaraz alone lasted for a whopping 4 hours and 19 minutes.

Having spent this much time on the clay, a transition within just two days looked difficult. Meanwhile, he is next scheduled to play The Terra Wortmann Open on his home soil in Halle from June 15. Zverev, however, is not the only player who is not ready for a transition.

When Rafael Nadal expressed similar sentiments like Alexander Zverev

For the first time in the history of Roland Garros, the ‘King of Clay’ suffered a defeat in the first round. Playing against Alexander Zverev, Rafa lost in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Soon after the defeat, he had also expressed similar sentiments like Zverev. He cited the challenges that the transition from clay to grass would bring to him. When he was asked whether he intends to compete at Wimbledon, Nadal said, “Looks difficult, honestly. I need to talk with the team. But I don’t think it’s going to be smart after all the things that happened to my body [to] now make a big transition to a completely different surface and then come back immediately to clay, no?”