Days after Roger Federer questioned tennis tournaments for favouring Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, Germany’s Alexander Zverev has made sensational allegations against tournament directors for slowing the surfaces down across the world.

The world number three alleged that the directors were slowing down the courts to help Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner succeed across all surfaces. During an on-court interview at the Shanghai Masters, Zverev said that the sport needed to bring back variety on the tour.

Earlier, Federer had said the slower courts allowed players to play the same way on clay, grass, or hard courts, adding that he wanted to see Alcaraz and Sinner adjust to fast conditions.

But Zverev not only echoed those sentiments but also fired a provocative shot at tournament directors.

“I hate when it’s the same and I know that the tournament directors are going towards that direction because obviously they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament, and that’s what they prefer,” Zverev said in an on-court interview.

“I’ve been on tour for 12 years now and we always had different surfaces. We always had tournaments which you liked and we always had tournaments which you didn’t like so much.”

While Alcaraz has won six Grand Slam titles at the age of 22, Sinner has won four, with the top two players in the world splitting the last eight majors between them.

“You couldn’t play tennis the same way on a grass court, hard court and a clay court. Nowadays you can play almost the same way on every surface, so I don’t like it, I’m not a fan of it,” added Zverev, who has yet to win a major title.

“I think tennis needs game styles. Tennis needs a little bit of variety and I think we’re lacking that right now.”

While Alcaraz withdrew from the Shanghai Masters tournament with an ankle injury, second seed Sinner moved into the next round alongside Zverev.

Sinner Responds to Allegations

When the Italian was asked if tournament directors were standardising courts and making them slower to benefit him and Alcaraz, he offered a diplomatic response.

“Me and Carlos, we don’t make the courts. It’s not our decision,” he said.

“We try to adapt ourselves in every situation. I feel like still every week is a bit different.

“I’ve played some great tennis even when it was faster courts. But I’m not making the courts, so I just try to adapt and play my best tennis I can, and that’s it.”

How to Make Tennis Courts Slower?

The speed of a tennis court largely depends on its surface and how it affects the ball’s bounce. The courts can be made slower by using specific techniques, unique to each court.

Clay Court

Clay courts naturally slow down the ball because the dirt surface pushes back against it, resulting in higher and slower bounces. This extra time allows players with great fitness and defensive skills to stay in rallies longer. Clay courts can be made slower by simply adding more water to the clay in the run-up to the tournament.

Grass Court

Grass courts, on the other hand, tend to produce lower, faster, and often more unpredictable bounces. The ball can skid across the surface, making grass generally a faster court — though conditions like moisture can influence this. In grass surfaces, the court is slowed down by leaving a bigger top layer of grass.

Hard Court

Hard courts offer a more consistent and predictable bounce. However, the amount of friction on the court’s surface plays a key role in court speed. A hard court with higher friction “grips” the ball more on impact, causing it to bounce higher and slower than usual. So, depending on the material of the court and by adding sand on the surface, hard courts can be made slower by increasing the grip on the surface.

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