Zverev slams Alcaraz’s medical timeout as « bullshit »; Spaniard says physio made the call
Alexander Zverev slammed tournament officials on Friday after Carlos Alcaraz was granted a medical timeout for what appeared to be severe cramping. The German third seed accused the tour of protecting its top stars during a high-stakes moment in their five-set semifinal.
Alexander Zverev, Australian Open 2026 | © Imago / PsNewz
«Absolute Bullshit » : Zverev’s Fury Over Alcaraz’s Medical InterventionThe controversy erupted in the third set with the score tied at 4-4.
Carlos Alcaraz, who was leading by two sets, began crouching and clutching his right thigh. After holding serve, he requested a medical timeout (MTO), prompting an immediate and explosive reaction from Zverev. The German approached the chair umpire and the Grand Slam supervisor, arguing that Alcaraz was clearly suffering from cramps – a condition that, under ATP and Grand Slam rules, does not warrant a medical timeout.
You can not be serious. You protect the both of them. It’s unbelievable
« He has cramps. This is absolute bullshit. That is unbelievable. You can not be serious. You protect the both of them. It’s unbelievable, » Zverev fumed on court. Beyond the English outburst, social media users fluent in German transcribed a more heated exchange in his native tongue.
Zverev reportedly told his box and officials that it was « unbelievable that he gets treated for cramps » and directly accused the tour of bias, shouting: « You are protecting these two guys [Alcaraz and Sinner] all the time! »
In the press conference, Zverev stood by his frustration, though he attempted to move past the drama. « Yeah, I mean, he was cramping, so normally you can’t take a medical timeout for cramping. What can I do? It’s not my decision. I didn’t like it, but it’s not my decision » he said.
Zverev : “Not the topic now”
When asked about his German comments, he simply noted, « I just said it was bullshit, basically, » adding that the match deserved better than to have the MTO as its primary legacy. « To be honest, I don’t want to talk about this right now, because I think this is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia. It doesn’t deserve to be the topic now.»
« I said, “okay, I just went to run to the forehand side, and I started to feel like the right adductor”. He decided to take the medical timeout, and he did it. That’s it. You know, once again, I just told what happens to the physio, and he decides to take medical.»
Zverev’s latest outburst in Melbourne taps into a long-simmering grievance regarding the tour’s perceived favoritism toward its new icons. Just last October at the Shanghai Masters, the German explicitly claimed that tournament directors were intentionally slowing down surfaces across the globe – including hard courts – to suit the defensive capabilities of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
At the time, Zverev argued that the variety of the professional circuit was being sacrificed because organizers « want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament », a sentiment that echoed Roger Federer’s own concerns about the homogenization of court speeds.
