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Rennae Stubbs, multiple-time Grand Slam doubles champion, has come to the defence of Alexander Zverev after the German received backlash for his conduct towards an interviewer following his latest victory at the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.
Zverev, the No. 2 player in the world, wasted no time dispatching ATP No. 60 Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 6-1 in his Round of 64 encounter. However, the on-court interviewer seemingly left the German annoyed when he mentioned early exits in recent Masters 1000 tournaments.
"You've had a couple of early exits in the Masters this year, so how nice [is it] to get one under your belt here?", quizzed the interviewer.
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A visibly irate Alexander Zverev fired back, reminding the interviewer that he had won an ATP 500 tournament in Munich last month.
"It is your job to think about stupid questions," the German snapped back at the interviewer, suggesting that he was not worried about his form despite recent setbacks.
The German received backlash for his conduct during the interview. An account on X (formerly Twitter), posted a clip of the interaction and quizzed:
"Did he have to be that rude to the interviewer?"
Rennae Stubbs came to Alexander Zverev's defense, suggesting that the reporter had made a mistake by asking a "ridiculous" question.
"The answer was rude but the question was ridiculous. Sorry. He could have said it’s been a tough few weeks after Munich so how much more comfortable are you here in Rome? Was the tennis we saw today how [you] felt in Munich? There are ways to highlight it without ripping a player," she wrote on X.
Notably, the German claimed he had received unfair treatment from the media due to his string of poor results, insisting that he will find his form in the big tournaments.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Italian Open, Zverev had said:
"I do think the media also loves to put players down, right? I had a bad two months before Munich, right? I didn't play great tennis before Munich. All of a sudden I'm like the worst world No. 2 in the world ever. I don't deserve to be there. Like I'm there because I won tournaments."
He added, "At the end of the day in big matches, big moments, I still believe the top players will rise. And I still believe that I am going to find my tennis for the biggest tournaments.”
Alexander Zverev will play his next match against Vilius Gaubas. The German is the defending champion at the event.
Alexander Zverev's 2025 season has been marked by ups and downs
Alexander Zverev started the year superbly, making the final of the Australian Open where he went down to No. 1 Jannik Sinner 3–6, 6–7(4–7), 3–6. However, he has failed to retain consistency in subsequent tournaments.
Zverev, who has won seven Masters 1000 titles in his career, suffered early exits in Monte-Carlo (losing to Matteo Barrettini) and Madrid (losing to Francisco Cerundolo).
In Madrid, he went down to Cerundolo in straight sets - the third time he has lost to the Argentine in as many meetings.
The German did clinch a title on home soil last month, winning the BMW Open in Munich by defeating Ben Shelton in the final.
