Alexander Zverev accuses tennis officials of favouring Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

The debate over the speed of court surfaces and the lack of variation across the ATP Tour season has been a talking point in tennis since 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer hit out at the way most tournaments are not played on similar surfaces.

Even when the ATP Tour switches from clay to grass and hard courts, the speed of the court doesn't change in the way it used to during Federer's days at the top.

"We need to have not only fast courts, but what we would want to see is Alcaraz or Sinner figure it out on lightning fast courts and then have the same match on super slow courts and see how that matches up," said Federer on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.

"It's because the tournament directors have allowed the ball speed and the court speed that every week is basically the same. And that's why you can just go from winning, French, Wimbledon, US Open, and just play the same way."

Those comments sparked a discussion over the consistency of surfaces, but Zverev has taken the debate up several levels as he spoke out after his win against Valentine Royer in his first match at the Shanghai Masters.

The German voiced his opinion that the desire to lay the foundations for Alcaraz and Sinner to play each other in finals is encouraging tournament directors to give the top two in men's tennis the conditions they want to thrive in.

"I hate when it's the same, to be honest," declared Zverev.

"I think 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.

"Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don't like it, I'm not a fan of it.

"I think tennis needs different game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety and I think we're lacking that right now."

Zverev would doubtless relish the chance to play on a faster court that could allow him to make best use of his booming serve, but he is being presented with courts that are designed to produce longer rallies rather than quick-fire points.

His comments are certain to cause a stir, with the German refusing to hold back when he got the chance to voice his views.

Alcaraz and Sinner are getting things all their own way with a series of flawless results across 2025, with the player sitting next in the rankings convinced they are being helped to sustain their dominance over their rivals.

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