Zverev was not expected to play Wimbledon following the injury he picked up in his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal, as he went down screaming in pain and needed to be taken off court in a wheelchair, retiring the match and later revealing he underwent surgery after tearing several ligaments in his ankle.
The German was set to be the top seed at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time after rising to a career-high of world No 2, with top-ranked Medvedev banned from Wimbledon along with his other Russian and Belarusian colleagues. It means world Nos 3 and 4 Novak Djokovic and Nadal are set to be the top two seeds at The Championships.
With Medvedev and Zverev both out of Wimbledon, it marks the first time since ATP rankings were introduced back in 1973 that the world Nos 1 and 2 would not be appearing at the All England Club.
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“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!”
Meanwhile, Medvedev has been proving he would have been a strong contender at Wimbledon had he not been banned, as he reached the final of last week’s Libema Open and began his Halle campaign with a 6-3 6-2 win over David Goffin.
