BERLIN, July 8, 2020

Organizers of the bett1ACES announced on Wednesday that Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios and Caroline Garcia pulled out of the tennis exhibition tournament in Berlin. The event features a line-up of six women and six men taking place from July 13 to 19 at two different locations in the city.

The first tournament will be played on grass at the Steff Graf Stadium of the LTTC „Rot-Weiß“ e.V. followed by the second event to be hosted at the Hangar 6 of Berlin’s former international airport Tempelhof.

“I was planning this month to play in Berlin, but I have made the decision to stay put and train with my team and not play any tournaments at the moment,” Zverev wrote on Instagram.

“It’s never nice to miss the chance to play at home, but I will be back soon,” added the World No. 7, who also confirmed that former top 10 player David Ferrer has joined his coaching team on a trial basis.

Kyrgios, who is currently ranked World No. 40, withdrew due to the worsening spread of COVID-19 throughout Australia with the city of Melbourne back in lockdown. “When Nick commited to play in Berlin in May, this development wasn’t to be expected,” tournament director Edwin Weindorfer stated in a press release.

Die Alternates für @AlexZverev und @NickKyrgios bei den @bett1aces in Berlin stehen fest: Die deutschen Profis Mischa Zverev und Rudi Molleker sollen das Sechser-Feld der Herren vervollständigen. #bett1aces

— tennis MAGAZIN (@tennismagazin) July 8, 2020

According to the Tennis Magazin, Zverev will be replaced by his brother Mischa Zverev, who had his first practice session on grass inside the Steffi Gras Stadium today. German young gun Rudolf Molleker has also joined the field.

Caroline Garcia will not come to Germany due to a foot injury. The World No. 46 from France will be replaced by Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova.