Late drama: Alexander Zverev out, Alex de Minaur in, fans stunned by last-minute ATP call-up

Alex de Minaur has made the call to enter one more event before the French Open gets underway.

The Aussie hasn’t been in the best of form lately, with just four wins from his last 11 outings on tour.

De Minaur is currently on a three-match skid, a run that continued in Rome where he was beaten by world number 106 Matteo Arnaldi at the Italian Open.

In response to his recent results, De Minaur has opted into a tournament he’s never played before, accepting a late entry ahead of Roland Garros.

Alex de Minaur accepts wildcard entry into Hamburg Open

The ATP 500 event in Hamburg had already handed out its wildcards to German trio Jan-Lennard Struff, Justin Engel, and Diego Dedura.

But when Alexander Zverev pulled out due to a back injury, another slot opened up in the draw.

This allowed organisers to offer a last-minute spot to De Minaur, who took up the invitation to join the field. It will be his first appearance at the event.

De Minaur will be seeded third and joins a field that includes Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton and defending champion Flavio Cobolli.

Previous winners of the Hamburg Open

Back in the day, the Hamburg Open held Masters 1000 status until it was bumped off the calendar in 2009 and replaced by the Madrid Open.

Over its history, plenty of big names have lifted the trophy, including Roger Federer (3) and Rafael Nadal (2). And looking at more recent times, every winner since 2020 has reached at least a top 20 ranking during their career.

Zverev is among them too, along with Arthur Fils, Lorenzo Musetti and last year’s champion Flavio Cobolli.

This year, De Minaur will be hoping to add his name to that list. More importantly, he’ll be looking to pick up some much-needed momentum before heading to Roland-Garros. The main draw for the 2026 Hamburg Open starts on Sunday May 17.

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