Zverev becomes ATP world number one after victory

Alexander Zverev replaced Jannik Sinner as the men’s world number one following his quarter-final victory in Vienna. He secured his position as the ATP’s leading player for the year with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Tallon Griekspoor at the Erste Bank Open. Zverev, who is 29 years old, became the second German to achieve this ranking, following Boris Becker, who reached it in 1991.

This accomplishment is a significant milestone in Zverev's career, particularly as he finished the year with two Grand Slam titles and a winning record of 64 out of 80 matches. "It’s been a wait but sometimes you have to wait for the best things in life," Zverev remarked, expressing his happiness at reaching this pinnacle at this stage of his career.

At the year's start, many anticipated that Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz would continue to dominate the number one spot. However, injuries sidelined both competitors for significant parts of the season. Zverev capitalized on this gap, winning the French Open and US Open titles with one or both rivals absent.

Entering 2026, Alcaraz led the ATP rankings with 12,050 points, followed closely by Sinner with 11,500 points, illustrating their dominance as they split all eight Grand Slam titles of 2024 and 2025. Zverev, ranked third, had just 5,110 points, indicating a substantial gap between himself and the top two. He achieved a major victory over Ben Shelton in the US Open final, which marked his first encounter with a top-10 player.

As the season unfolded, Zverev reached a remarkable achievement by securing the year-end number one ranking after Alcaraz was eliminated in Shanghai on 12 October. Although Zverev knew he couldn’t officially surpass Sinner until 2 November at the earliest, he assured his ascent to the top by defeating Griekspoor, becoming the first player other than Sinner or Alcaraz to lead the rankings since Novak Djokovic in June 2024.

Despite acknowledging that he might not hold the top ranking if both rivals were healthy and in good form, Zverev demonstrated his resilience and met the challenges of the season head-on.

Zverev's next match in the quarter-finals will be against British number one Arthur Fery, who recently triumphed over Lorenzo Musetti, a match that has captured attention due to Fery's unexpected rise in the rankings. In contrast, Cameron Norrie faced disappointment in his last-16 match against Daniil Medvedev, stalling his pursuit of a significant victory this season.