Alexander Zverev (29) won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open on Sunday. The most beautiful thing was "holding the trophy in his hands for the first time", he says in an interview with the "Bild" newspaper. "And then giving it to my father, my mother and my brother, that too. That's what's special", he adds. Immediately after the victory, he made his way to his family and threw his arms around his father Alexander Zverev senior (66). "It was clear that I would go to my father first. We did the most work together", he says about his long-time coach.
Daughter Mayla already shows talent
The 29-year-old speaks particularly lovingly about his daughter Mayla (5). A year ago, he had already described her as the person who makes him happiest. Meanwhile, his daughter, whom he has with former "GNTM" candidate Brenda Patea, has also developed a liking for tennis herself. "She had an incredible amount of fun in Acapulco", he reports from the ATP tournament there in February. She danced with his manager's son during changeovers. "She likes it more and more", Zverev reports.
Whether Mayla will want to become a tennis professional herself later on is something her father wants to leave open. "She is very talented. If she wants to, I'd love that", says Zverev. "She already plays a little bit, she's left-handed", he reveals. As a left-hander, she could learn from her uncle Mischa. But for now, she'll accompany him at the tournament in Halle.
Tennis pro talks about new addition to the family
Zverev's loved ones also include his girlfriend Sophia Thomalla (36) and their shared dogs. In 2025, he gave her the dachshund Mishka, and now she brought him Buba, Mishka's brother, to Paris - "because Mishka decided that he is daddy's dog. And then she said that she would give me a dog too, which would then be hers", he laughingly reveals the background of the recent canine addition.
However, Zverev has hardly been able to get to know the new four-legged friend so far. Thomalla came with the dog "in the evening and left the next morning, so I've only seen him for a few hours so far", he describes. The two dogs apparently get along so well that they kept Zverev's mother awake at night with their playing.
