Jennifer Capriati proves Alexander Zverev must fire father as coach, ex-tennis pro warns

Former tennis pro Pancho Campo recently touched on Alexander Zverev and the German's inability to win Majors in a career that otherwise has been quite impressive so far. Citing Jennifer Capriati's example, Campo opined that Zverev has to work with a new coach instead of continuing his longstanding collaboration with his father if he wants to win Grand Slam titles.

Capriati's relationship with her father Stefano, who also happened to be her coach for a significant part of her playing career, gained notoriety in the tennis world for its turbulent nature. Many viewed Stefano as a bully and as an overbearing coach.

It was widely believed that Capriati's decision to take a break from tennis following her shocking first-round exit from the 1993 US Open stemmed from the burnout caused by the constant pressure her father had put on her to achieve superstardom in professional tennis from an early age.

In a recent interview with Punto de Break, Pancho Campo cited Jennifer Capriati's example and likened it to Alexander Zverev's present-day situation. Campo began by wondering how the German repeatedly falters on tennis' biggest stages. Zverev has so far reached three Major finals and lost all of them, registering defeats at the hands of Dominic Thiem (2020 US Open), Carlos Alcaraz (2024 French Open) and Jannik Sinner (2025 Australian Open).

"Zverev really intrigues me. He has the physique, the height, the shots… but he doesn't win Grand Slams! Every time he plays against the top players, he loses. I don't know what's going on," Campo said.

He subsequently brought up Capriati and Stefano's turbulent relationship and opined that it would be best for the current ATP No. 3 to rope in a new coach, adding:

"For a player, family is always very important, but sometimes parents are their biggest enemies. A parent is the best support, if used correctly, but they can also ruin your career. Look at Jennifer Capriati! They didn't make peace until the day she was inducted into the Hall of Fame . I don't know Zverev's case as well, but I think his father should take a step back and let someone else manage his son's career."

Despite Campo's take, it's worth noting that Stefano was instrumental in Capriati's 1996 comeback and subsequent title triumphs at the 2001 and 2002 editions of the Australian Open and the 2021 French Open.

Alexander Zverev trained under Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni's supervision earlier in 2025; laid bare hope of joining forces with Spaniard for Australian Open 2026

Alexander Zverev during a press conference at the 2025 Paris Masters (Source: Getty)

In July this year, Alexander Zverev made his way to Rafael Nadal's famed tennis academy in Manacor to briefly train under the legendary Spaniard's uncle Toni's tutelage. Later, in October, the 24-time career singles titlist told Sky Sports that he and Toni remained in touch. The German also expressed his hope of having Toni in his box at the 2026 Australian Open.

"We are in touch. We are talking a lot about what next year could possibly look like. But so far, there is no news, and I will update you guys when I know more. I would like him to come to Australia with me to start, so we will see!," Zverev said.

Toni though, has maintained that it would be difficult for him to coach Alexander Zverev full-time. The World No. 3's fortunes in the 2025 tennis season were mixed. While he reached the Australian Open final and won the ATP 500 BMW Open in Munich, his results elsewhere were mostly up and down. His season ended at the ATP Finals, where he failed to progress from the Round Robin phase.

Edited by Sudipto Pati