Alexander Zverev smiles from his hospital bed after going under the knife to get surgery on torn ligaments in his right ankle… having left the court at the French Open last week in a wheelchair following shock retirement against Rafa Nadal
- Alexander Zverev went under the knife with surgery following the French Open
- The German, who will rise to world No 2 this week, sustained ligament damage
- Against Rafa Nadal in the semi-finals he hurt his ankle stretching for a forehand
- He was heard screaming in pain before having to be taken off in a wheelchair
- Zverev posted a photo on Instagram from his hospital bed after the operation
Alexander Zverev has vowed to ‘come back stronger than ever’ having had surgery to fix torn ligaments in his ankle, ending any chance of him playing at Wimbledon later this month.
Zverev’s French Open run came to an abrupt halt last week in very distressing scenes.
The German, who will rise to world No 2 when the ATP Tour rankings update next week, stretched for a forehand return in his semi-final against Rafa Nadal, only to rip multiple ligaments in his right ankle, leaving him writhing in pain on the clay.
German tennis star Alexander Zverev smiled from hospital having undergone ankle surgery
The German saw his right ankle buckle at the French Open, where he tore multiple ligaments
The 25-year-old star had to be taken from the court in a wheelchair after hurting his ankle
Zverev eventually had to leave the Philippe-Chatrier court in a wheelchair and the German has wasted no time in going under the knife, giving fans an update of the successful surgery on his Instagram page.
‘We all have our own journey in life. This is part of mine,’ he wrote on Instagram, accompanying a photo of him smiling and giving a thumbs up from his hospital bed.
‘Next week I’ll reach a career high ranking of No 2 in the world, but this morning I had to undergo surgery.
He has shared his injury journey since the French Open candidly with his fans on social media
‘After further examination in Germany, we received confirmation that all three of the lateral ligaments in my right ankle were torn.
‘To return to competition as quickly as possible, to ensure all the ligaments heal properly, and to reclaim full stability in my ankle, surgery was the best choice.
‘My rehab starts now and I’ll do everything to come back stronger than ever!’
Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the year, gets underway on June 27 and Zverev’s older brother, Mischa, has already poured cold water on any hope the new world No 2 can compete.
Mischa Zverev told German newspaper Bild that Wimbledon is ‘out of the question’ for his brother.
The injury arrived at the worst possible time for Zverev, with the 25-year-old pushing eventual champion Nadal really hard in a gruelling semi-final.
He had to retire from his semi-final against eventual French Open champion Rafael Nadal
Having lost a first-set tie-break 7-6, Zverev was locked in at 6-6 in the second, with more than three hours of tennis on the clock.
As he scampered to his right to meet a vicious return from Nadal, Zverev immediately had a problem, crashing to the floor where he screamed out in pain, eventually needing a wheelchair to leave the court.
It remains to be seen how quickly Zverev will be able to rehabilitate his ankle, with the US Open at Flushing Meadows, the final Grand Slam of the year, slated to start on August 29 in New York.
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