Watch: Alexander Zverev is applauded as he walks on court for the first time since ankle injury against Rafael Nadal at French Open
Alexander Zverev returned to the tennis court on Friday for the first time in six months as he faced his brother, Mischa, in a match for his foundation in Germany.
The 25-year-old surprised the tennis world on Thursday with a social media post, revealing that he will make a comeback against his older brother for the inaugural Alexander Zverev Foundation Gala at Tannenhof Sport & Spa on December 2.
"Itβs time for the inaugural Alexander Zverev Foundation Gala at Tannenhof Sport & Spa and my comeback match against Mischa Zverev. Check out the AZ Foundation website for information about the projects that we are supporting and contribute to our initiatives," Alexander wrote on Instagram.
β
*OVER-DRAMATIC COMEBACK THREAD BEGINS NOW* π§΅
Walking out onto court with a tennis bag and bandana β€οΈβπ₯ https://t.co/Q0HxeXpusd
In a video that appeared on social media, the 2020 Olympic gold medalist can be seen walking out on the court to a huge round of applause as he acknowledged the spectators in attendance. Sporting a bandana, Alexander joined Mischa in the middle of the court for a chat and stated that he was thrilled to be back and hoped to play the entire 2023 season. The brothers seemed to be having a great time with a lot of light-hearted moments, with Alexander serving in full flow.
"I'm happy to be back on the court. I'm happy to play against Mischa now, which will be a halfway decent match. And then it's back to the tour for me with Australia. And hopefully, next year, I can play the whole year through and not just 5 months like I did this year," Alexander said.
The German star was in the form of his life during the 2022 French Open and was giving eventual champion Rafael Nadal an extremely difficult time in their semifinal clash when the horrific incident took place. While going for a forehand, Alexander twisted his right ankle, tearing all three of the lateral ligaments and forcing him to retire mid-match. The scorecard read 7-6(8), 6-6 in the Spaniard's favor after over three hours of play.
"It wasn't a stupid accident" - Alexander Zverev on his ankle injury in French Open
Alexander Zverev reached a career-high ranking of World No. 2 the week after the 2022 French Open. He was set to return to the Davis Cup in September, but suffered yet another bone injury, prolonging his comeback.
The 25-year-old will be seen playing at the Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition tournament, to be played from December 8-10. Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas will also join him in Saudi Arabia. In a recent interview, Zverev stated that he had accepted the unfortunate injury that cut short his season and that he realized what tennis meant to him.
"All those setbacks, you've got to accept," Alexander Zverev said. "That was a little bit unfortunate but things happen. I can live with it because it happened during the semi-finals of the French Open while I was trying to achieve a lifetime goal. It didn't happen snowboarding or skiing or something like that. It wasn't a stupid accident. I realize what life without tennis is like. Hopefully, I'm ready for something new and something big."