PARIS — On Friday, Alexander Zverev, a German tennis player, recounted a harrowing incident where his plane was struck by lightning en route to France for the French Open, leading to an emergency return to Hamburg. This mishap delayed his arrival for the upcoming Grand Slam on clay courts.
Zverev, last year’s runner-up at Roland-Garros and the third seed this year, shared his unexpected journey, explaining, “We were scheduled for a 6:45 p.m. departure from Hamburg. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft was struck by lightning, necessitating an urgent landing back at Hamburg.”
After this unnerving experience, Zverev managed to secure a new flight and resumed his trip at 1 a.m., eventually reaching his destination around 3 a.m.
The German player is set to play against Learner Tien from the United States in the first round on Sunday. Despite the unexpected and potentially dangerous occurrence, Zverev described the experience as surprisingly manageable. “It produced a slight noise,” he noted, “but there wasn’t much turbulence or anything significant.”
On the flight with him were Czech player Jiri Lehecka and American Brandon Nakashima.
Earlier in the week, Zverev attributed his subpar performance at the German Open in Hamburg, where he faced an early exit, to feeling unwell. Reflecting on his recent form, he admitted, “Anyone familiar with tennis could see I wasn’t operating at full capacity.”