“I was diagnosed with pneumonia” – Alexander Zverev reveals reason for taking a break

Alexander Zverev recently revealed the reason for taking a break and for withdrawing from the 2024 China Open. He also shed light on the prolonged health struggles he has been facing, adding that he was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Zverev recently finished his run at the North American hard court swing, where he had a strong showing. He reached the quarterfinals at the 2024 Canadian Open before falling to Sebastian Korda and the semifinal at the Cincinnati Open, where he lost to eventual champion, Jannik Sinner. At the US Open, the World No. 2 lost to eventual runner-up Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals.

Most recently, Alexander Zverev competed at the 2024 Laver Cup in Berlin, where he competed in both singles and doubles matches. On Day 1 he partnered with Carlos Alcaraz for a doubles match but lost to the American pair of Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. On Day 2, the German played a singles match where he was defeated by Fritz. On the final day, Zverev scored his first win at the Laver Cup after defeating Frances Tiafoe in the singles match.

Following his Laver Cup campaign, Zverev was set to compete at the 2024 China Open in Beijing. but was forced to withdraw from the tournament. While speaking to the German Press Agency on September 24, the World No. 2 revealed that he had to withdraw due to pneumonia.

As quoted by zdfheute, Zverev mentioned that he had been dealing with health issues for the past few months, alluding to the illness he had been battling since the 2024 Paris Olympics. He was also seen coughing during the Laver Cup. Alexander Zverev said that he wants to take care of his health and be back on the court as soon as possible.

“Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with pneumonia, which explains the difficulties I have had physically in recent months. I have to take care of my health first so that I can compete again as soon as possible . I am very disappointed to have to withdraw from the China Open. I will miss my Chinese fans in Beijing and hope to be able to play in front of them again soon,” Zverev said.

Alexander Zverev reached the semifinals at China Open last year

Last year, Alexander Zverev had an impressive performance at the China Open, where he made it to the semifinals

Seeded eighth in the tournament, Zverev kicked off his campaign by defeating Diego Schwartzman in the first round. He then continued his winning streak by overcoming Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-1 in the second.

In the quarterfinals, Alexander Zverev secured a dominant victory over Nicolas Jarry with a score of 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3. However, his campaign at the ATP 500 hard court tournament in Beijing came to an end in the semifinals after second seed and eventual runner-up, Daniil Medvedev defeated the German in straight sets.