Alexander Zverev has claimed that the world’s best tennis players are “always going to play the Olympics” in comments critical of those choosing to play elsewhere.
World No 4 Zverev will go into the men’s singles event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games next weekend as the reigning champion, beating Karen Khachanov to take home the gold medal in Tokyo three years ago.
Zverev is joined by Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s event, while Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff headline the women’s singles.
However, several big names will not be in action, with the likes of Andrey Rublev, Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur and Emma Raducanu skipping the event, which is being held at Roland Garros.
Two criticisms of the Olympics are the change in surface to clay, just weeks out from the US Open, and the lack of ranking points available.
Several leading ATP and WTA stars – including Americans Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton – will play at the 500-level event in Washington D.C the same week as the Olympics, starting their hard-court summers.
Speaking to InsideSport at the Hamburg Open, Zverev claimed he would never play an ATP 500 event in place of the Olympics, describing it as one of the most “important” events on tour.
“The ITF or the Olympics are not best friends with the ATP, that’s not a secret,” he said.
“Everybody continues their own tour. Yes, the Olympics is one of the, if not the, most important events we have in sports.
“So, the best players in the world are always going to play the Olympics over anything else, over points and over prize money. All the top players went to Wimbledon a few years back, despite having no points on the line.
“It’s about prestige, it’s not about points or money. It’s about winning these kinds of titles and having medals for your country. That’s what it’s about.
“I would never choose to play a 500 event over the Olympics. There are no thoughts on that, and I think Washington is going to be quite an interesting 500 event, I would say.”
Zverev is currently set to be the fourth seed at Paris 2024, and will be among the leading contenders to win a second gold medal this summer.
Only Sinner and Alcaraz have earned more ranking points than the German this season, with the world No 4 winning one of the biggest titles of his career at the Italian Open.
Zverev also has a strong pedigree at Roland Garros, losing to Alcaraz in the final last month, and reaching three straight French Open semi-finals before that.