Following his earliest exit at a Grand Slam since 2019, Alexander Zverev is considering therapy to talk through his mental health issues after admitting he feels "alone" and "empty" following his exit from Wimbledon.

The German third seed was stunned by France's Arthur Rinderknech in the Wimbledon first round on Tuesday.

Zverev, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, slipped to a shock 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (8/10), 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 defeat against the world number 72 in a marathon clash lasting four hours and 40 minutes on Centre Court.

The 28-year-old is the highest-ranked seed to fall so far in this year's men's singles at the All England Club.

In a remarkably open and honest press conference, Zverev said he was struggling to cope with life on the grueling tennis circuit.

"It's funny, I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle mentally. I've been saying that since after the Australian Open," he said. I'm trying to find ways, trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way.

"I feel, generally speaking, quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice."

"Maybe for the first time in my life I'll probably need it.

Zverev, who reached the Australian Open final in January, endured his latest Wimbledon flop  and has now failed to make it past the fourth round at Wimbledon in nine visits to the grass-court major.