Alexander Zverev’s unfortunate Wimbledon withdrawal leads to bizarre first in 49 years

Alexander Zverev on Thursday officially withdrew from the impending 2022 Wimbledon after failing to recover from the surgery he had on his ankle for the injury he had picked up during the semi-final clash against Rafael Nadal at the French Open earlier this month. With the unfortunate withdrawal, Wimbledon will incur a bizarre first in 49 years of its illustrious history.

The Wimbledon had banned the participation of Russian and Belarusian players for the 2022 edition implying that Daniil Medvedev, who had risen to the top of the ATP rankings on Monday for the second time in his career, will be missing the tournament. Zverev too had reached the career-high No.2 ranking after an impressive run to the semis at the Roland Garros.

With both the young guns missing out, this will be for the first time since 1973 that Wimbledon will be played without World No.1 and No.2.

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The German was set to miss the Wimbledon after tearing several ligaments in his ankle during his semi-final match at the Roland Garros earlier this month. Zverev had gone down on the floor screaming in pain before he was helped into a wheelchair and taken off the court. He later revealed that he had undergone a surgery. He was also set to be the second seeded player at the grass-court major for the first time in his career.

He had taken on Instagram to write, “We all have our own journey in life. This is part of mine. Next week I’ll reach a career high ranking of number 2 in the world, but this morning I had to undergo surgery. After further examination in Germany, we received confirmation that all three of the lateral ligaments in my right ankle were torn.

“To return to competition as quickly as possible, to ensure all the ligaments heal properly, and to reclaim full stability in my ankle, surgery was the best choice. My rehab starts now and I’ll do everything to come back stronger than ever!”

The 25-year-old is reportedly set to be out of action for nearly eight weeks and is likely to return to action during the US Open build up events. Meanwhile, Medevedev could have proven to be a strong contender at the SW19 following his run to the Libema Open final. He also won his first round match against David Goffin at the Halle Open.