Alexander Zverev's past comment about Rotterdam surfaced after the world No. 3 signed up to return to the Dutch ATP 500 tournament in early 2026.
Between 2015 and 2023, the German tennis star made six appearances on the indoor hard courts of the ABN AMRO Open- picked up three first-round exits, twice lost in the round-of-16, and only once made the quarterfinal.
In 2021, Zverev arrived at the Dutch tournamentas one of the top favorites for the title. But his run was short-lived after he lost to Alexander Bublik in his opener.
At the start of this season, Zverev made a surprise move when he decided to sign up for a couple of clay tournaments during February's Golden Swing. And when addressing his decision that pretty much stunned everyone, the German called out the ABN AMRO Open by stating that he "never liked their playing conditions and never felt good there."
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What exactly Zverev said about the ABN AMRO Open earlier this year?
"The truth is that I don't like the conditions in Rotterdam at all, I've never felt good there during my career. If we add to this the fact that last year I took a month off at that time of the season and that break had damaged me physically and technically, the ideal choice was the tournaments in South America. I can't wait to see how these events are organized and to enjoy the support of the fans," the 28-year-old said.
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Unfortunately for Zverev, his experiment of going to South America didn't go well since he only made back-to-back quarterfinals in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, and picked up shock losses to Francisco Cerundolo and Francisco Comesana.
It remains to be seen if Zverev can turn the page in Rotterdam in his seventh appearance at the tournament.
