"What Zverev did, plain and simple, is not right"

During the recent quarterfinal match at the ATP Beijing 2026 between Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, a moment captured the attention of the general public. It happened right at the beginning of the match, when the Serbian and the German were still warming up, although Sascha already had a break in his favor. A point that has ended up being, almost literally, a turning point: the moment when the tennis world is calling out for a change to a rule that goes against common sense.

It was the controversy of the match... and perhaps the moment that fueled Djokovic, giving him the boost to seek a historic comeback that would ultimately mark the start of his first title of the season. We are talking about that moment when, just during Zverev's first serve at a point in the second game of the match, the LED lights of the Central Court boards flickered: Sascha, nonetheless, decided to continue, only claiming that circumstance after he had lost the point following a deep return from the Serbian. According to the chair umpire, Zverev was protected by a recent rule change that allows players to call for video review for a circumstance that occurred during the point... once it has already concluded, which, of course, caused deep discomfort in a Djokovic who could not quite make sense of this situation.

Controversy during the Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev match in Beijing Zverev served, Novak returned, Zverev missed a forehand. After he missed the forehand, Zverev complained to the umpire about the LED screen changing during his serve. Novak: “He served. I played one shot and he played another shot. Is that ok? If he was annoyed by that change there, he’d stop after the serve & he’d call it” Novak: “This must be one of the most stupid change of rules I’ve ever heard in my life.” https://t.co/IMQHmJcJe7

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 4, 2026

Rusedski joins the public trend and launches a severe criticism of this rule

The latest to speak about this incident, showing deep sincerity, was Greg Rusedski. The former US Open finalist reiterated his views on his own podcast, making it clear that everything that happened made no sense, calling for a review of the current regulations and labeling the claim of the soon-to-be world number one as "incorrect".

"I wouldn't say it's right. You don't play the full point and when it ends you say, 'Oh, can I play it again'? From my point of view, if you want to replay the point, you must stop it before it has finished. That has always been the rule until now. If there is interference or something has happened, you need to stop and halt immediately. If you don't stop immediately, you wait for the point to finish, lose it, and then have the chance to repeat it and play again... then I believe the rule is, quite simply, erroneous."

Rusedski's opinion aligns with the general sentiment of the tennis world, which questioned the integrity of a rule that has already generated countless controversies. The latest to be affected was Coco Gauff, who also waited until the end of the point to claim interference in her third-round match and ended up receiving online abuse from many viewers, forcing her to issue a statement explaining that players can rely on this new rule to request video review at the end of the rally. We will see if in upcoming tournaments we encounter another moment of tension... or if the ATP decides to take action to return to what we already had before.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, "Lo que hizo Zverev, simple y llanamente, no está bien"