Zverev chooses rest over China Open return

The German has more hours on court than any other player on the ATP Tour this year

Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic

September 24, 2024

World No 2 Alexander Zverev announced his withdrawal from the China Open in Beijing on Monday evening, where he was set to compete alongside Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP 500 event.

The news comes just days after the German criticised the ATP Tour’s schedule on the sidelines of the Laver Cup in Berlin.

“I do feel like we need to do something about it,” Zverev said last week of the packed tennis calendar. “I mean, I’m on the player council, so I do think the ATP is working towards that. It’s not an easy solution but it’s definitely a solution that needs to be made.”

Zverev has the highest number of hours on court of all ATP Tour players in 2024 by some margin. The 27-year-old has played 75 matches across 19 events, totalling 172 hours of play. The next closest is Lorenzo Musetti, who has spent 129 hours on court.

Having not been named in Germany’s Davis Cup Final 8 squad, it seems as though Zverev is taking his foot off the gas in the latter portion of the year. This comes as he has few points to defend, has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, and has no chance of catching Jannik Sinner for the year end No 1.

Zverev was set to be the second seed at the China Open, at which he made the semi-finals last year, and will be replaced by Miomir Kecmanovic in the draw.