Alexander Zverev has started well in Paris as he looks to enjoy another deep run at Roland Garros.
In 2024, Zverev reached the final of the French Open, narrowly coming up short against Carlos Alcaraz, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 1-6, 2-6.
Returning in 2025, Zverev won his opening match in straight sets against Learner Tien, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
The German looked in trouble during the early stages of his second-round clash with Jesper De Jong, dropping the first set, 3-6, before coming back to win in four, booking his place in the French Open round of 32.
Zverev will now take on Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in the third round, as one WTA legend gives her verdict on which surface best suits the world number three.
Chris Evert says Alexander Zverev is better suited to hard and grass courts than clay courts
Speaking on TNT Sports, former world number one Chris Evert shared her thoughts on the 28-year-old’s clay-court pedigree.
“[Alexander] Zverev is a big court power player. But I just don’t think this is his preferred surface,” she said.
“His tennis is better on a hard or a grass court with the big serve, the return.”
Fans online couldn’t believe what they were hearing as they expressed their confusion over Evert’s comments on X
“Trying my best not to roll my eyes,” said one fan.
“Is this a joke?” asked another.
“Chris Evert might have been an all-time great, but she comes up with some really odd statements. I don’t like her as a pundit, Zverev is stronger on grass than he is on clay, really?” added one fan.
The idea that clay isn’t Zverev’s favored surface has been circling for some time now, although the statistics certainly say otherwise.
Which surface has Alexander Zverev performed best on during his tennis career?
Looking at Zverev’s performances at the Grand Slam tournaments, the early signs point to clay being his best surface.
| Tournament | Best performance | Most recent performance | Win/Loss record | Win % |
| Australian Open | F – 2025 | F – 2025 | 31-10 | 76% |
| French Open | F – 2024 | F – 2024 | 36-9 | 80% |
| Wimbledon | 4R – 2017, 2021, 2024 | 4R – 2024 | 16-8 | 67% |
| US Open | F – 2020 | QF – 2024 | 26-9 |
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The German has won 80% of his matches on the Parisian clay, his best record at any Major by some distance.
His worst surface by this metric is grass, as Zverev has yet to reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and has won less than 70% of his matches at the event.
Zverev himself admitted he’s struggled on grass during an interview with the Tennis Channel at the Cincinnati Open in 2021.
For me, it’s about how high the ball bounces, not the speed of the court. That’s why I struggle on grass courts, maybe a little bit more than other surfaces,” he said.
“I’m a tall guy, I need the timing, I need the height for me to hit through the court. That’s why on clay I’ve had great success, I’ve won three Masters series, made the semis of the French Open this year, and on hard courts, which suit me, I’ve also had good success.”
There are several other statistics that prove Zverev’s class on clay compared to the other two surfaces, perhaps none more powerful than his win-loss record.
- Hard courts: 284-127 (69%)
- Clay courts: 167-61 (73%)
- Grass courts: 39-20 (66%)
He’s also won more Masters 1000 events on clay than he has on hard, despite the schedule being heavily skewed in favor of the latter surface (six events on hard, three on clay).
The ATP Tour’s love of hard courts has, however, led Zverev to win more overall titles on the surface than he has on grass or clay.
- Hard court titles: 15
- Clay Court titles: 9
- Grass court titles: 0
It’s fair to say the stats prove grass courts shouldn’t even be in this conversation, as Zverev has yet to win a single title on the surface.
The debate between clay and hard is more relevant, especially when analysing his performances on the surface in 2025.
Alexander Zverev’s performances on hard and clay courts in 2025
Zverev began 2025 with a stellar showing at his first hard-court event, the Australian Open.
Playing some of the best tennis of his career, he reached his maiden Melbourne final, dropping just two sets along the way.
There, Zverev fell to world number one Jannik Sinner in straight sets, 3-6, 6-7, 3-6.
The 28-year-old then made the bold move to play the South American clay ‘golden swing’ for the first time in his career, competing at the Argentina Open and Rio Open.
Entering both tournaments as the number one seed and heavy favorite, Zverev failed to make an impact, losing in the quarterfinals of both events.
His struggles didn’t seem to be clay-specific, however, as the German struggled in the Sunshine Double tournaments, Indian Wells, and the Miami Open, losing early in both events.
After suffering another early exit in Monte-Carlo, Zverev bounced back to win his first title of 2025, beating Ben Shelton in the Munich final on clay.
Unable to build on the result, Zverev’s final three French Open warm-up events didn’t go to plan, as he failed to reach a semi-final.
- 2025 Madrid Open – Alexander Zverev lost in 4R to Francisco Cerundolo
- 2025 Italian Open – Alexander Zverev lost in QF to Lorenzo Musetti
- 2025 Hamburg Open – Alexander Zverev lost in 2R to Alexandre Muller
Overall, it’s hard to tell which surface has been his best in 2025, as it is tough to debate whether a Grand Slam final on hard holds more value than an ATP 500 title on clay.
One thing’s for certain, though: if Zverev can win this year’s French Open, there will be no more questions over what his best surface is.
Zverev will return to action to take on Cobolli in the third round of the French Open on Saturday, May 31
