By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, June 7, 2022
World No. 3 Alexander Zverev undergoes surgery to repair torn lateral ligaments in his right ankle—and shares an update on social media.
Photo credit: Getty
Alexander Zverev hopes surgery will repair the damage done to his right ankle at Roland Garros.
World No. 3 Zverev underwent surgery today to repair three torn lateral ligaments in his right ankle.
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The 25-year-old German crashed to Court Philippe Chatrier wailing in agony after rolling his right ankle at the end of the second set of his semifinal vs. Rafael Nadal. Zverev was forced to retire from the match and later returned to court on crutches to complete the customary post-match handshake with Nadal and the chair umpire.
The Olympic gold medal champion announced his surgery on social media.
"Next week I’ll reach a career high ranking of number 2 in the world, but this morning I had to undergo surgery," Zverev said. "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."
Three hours, three minutes into a dramatic semifinal, Zverev was racing right chasing a running forehand when he rolled his right ankle bending it at a grotesque angle, crashed to the red clay and lay in the dirt wailing in piercing cries while writhing in agony.
The trainer immediately came out onto court to attend to the fallen German—Nadal came across the net to try to help too—before Zverev was helped to his feet and carted off the court in a wheelchair.
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Minutes later, Zverev showed pure class amid suffering hobbling back on the court in crutches to shake Nadal’s hand and the chair umpire’s hand as French fans saluted the pained German with a standing ovation. Zverev raised his crutches in appreciation of the fans' support.
"Very tough and very sad for him," Nadal told Hall of Famer Mats Wilander in his on-court interview. "Honestly, he was playing unbelievable tournament. He’s a very good colleague on the tour. I know how much he’s fighting to win a Grand Slam, but for the moment he was very unlucky.
"The only thing I am sure he gonna win not one, but much more than one. So I wish him all the very best and very fast recovery."
"Difficult to say a lot of things today in this situation," Nadal added after the semifinal. "Of course for me being in the final of Roland Garros one more time is a dream, without a doubt, but at the same time to finish that way I have been in the small room with Sasha before we came back on court. See him crying there is a very tough moment, just all the best to him."