Alexander Zverev is a German tennis player who became World No. 1 on November 2, 2026, the 30th man to top the ATP rankings. He won his first Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros in June 2026, then a second at the US Open in September.

Before that breakthrough, he had won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo and two ATP Finals titles. He is the top seed at the 2026 Rolex Paris Masters, where he opens against Lorenzo Musetti.

When did Alexander Zverev become World No. 1?

Zverev reached No. 1 in the rankings published on November 2, 2026, at 29. Jannik Sinner, out for the rest of the season with a knee injury since Wimbledon, could no longer defend his lead.

The year-end No. 1 ranking was already his during the Shanghai Masters. He confirmed the top spot by beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 in Vienna on October 29.

“Sometimes you have to wait for the good things in life,” he said that day. On the morning he became No. 1, he said in Paris that this season had taught him how to play on grass, and that he now felt he could contend at all four majors.

How many Grand Slam titles has Alexander Zverev won?

Two, both in 2026. He beat Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in the Roland-Garros final, at his fourth attempt in a major final. He was the first German man to win a major since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open.

In September, he beat American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in the US Open final, six years after losing his first major final in New York. He dedicated the title to his mother.

He has reached six Grand Slam finals. Before 2026, he had lost to Dominic Thiem 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6) at the 2020 US Open, to Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 at Roland-Garros in 2024, and to Jannik Sinner 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 at the 2025 Australian Open.

In July 2026, he reached his first Wimbledon final, which Sinner won 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 after Zverev hurt his right knee in a fall in the third set.

At the 2026 US Open, he became the only man to reach the quarter-finals of all four majors that season, beating Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3). In the first round, he saved himself from two points of defeat against Lorenzo Sonego, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-4 for his 100th Grand Slam win of the decade.

His only other defeat at a major in 2026 came in the Australian Open semi-finals, where Alcaraz beat him 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in 5 hours 27 minutes.

Why has Alexander Zverev struggled against Jannik Sinner?

Sinner leads their head-to-head 11-4 after the 2026 Wimbledon final. He had won eight consecutive matches against the German since August 2024 before their Madrid final.

In the spring of 2026, Sinner beat him in the semi-finals of Indian Wells 6-2, 6-4, Miami 6-3, 7-6 (4) and Monte-Carlo 6-1, 6-4, then 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes in the Madrid final.

“When you’re not playing at your absolute maximum, I guess you have no chance,” Zverev said after Monte-Carlo. After his US Open title, he still placed Sinner ahead of himself: “If everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that.”

What are Alexander Zverev’s biggest titles?

Besides his two majors, Zverev won the singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the first German man to win Olympic gold since Boris Becker and Michael Stich in doubles in 1992. He beat Karen Khachanov in the final after ending Novak Djokovic’s Golden Slam hopes in the semi-finals.

Even before Roland-Garros, he said he would never trade that gold medal for a Grand Slam title.

He won the ATP Finals in 2018 and 2021. His Masters 1000 titles include Rome and Canada in 2017, Madrid in 2018 and 2021, Cincinnati in 2021, and Rome and Paris in 2024. He also helped Team Europe win the 2026 Laver Cup, sealing it by beating Learner Tien 7-6 (3), 6-3.

How has Alexander Zverev changed his game?

Long seen as a defensive baseliner, Zverev has become more aggressive. During Roland-Garros 2026, the data showed him ending points faster and dictating rallies earlier than in previous seasons.

He also had his best grass season. He reached his first Wimbledon final, and said this year had taught him how to play on the surface.

What does Alexander Zverev think of the tennis calendar?

Zverev is one of the most outspoken critics of the schedule. In Vienna in October 2026, he called the calendar “nonsense”, confirmed he would play the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna and ruled out the United Cup.

He was one of the signatories of the top players’ letter on Grand Slam revenue. In Rome in May 2026, he said the players had not spoken about a boycott and that the debate was about the share of revenue.

Does Alexander Zverev have diabetes?

Yes. Zverev has had type 1 diabetes since the age of four, and injected insulin twice during the 2026 US Open final.

In his victory speech, he paid tribute to his mother for refusing to let the diagnosis limit him. “My mother is the most important and the strongest person I know, because it takes an unbelievably strong woman to do what she did,” he said.

What injuries has Alexander Zverev had?

The most serious came in the Roland-Garros semi-final against Rafael Nadal on June 3, 2022, when he tore ligaments in his right ankle and left the court in a wheelchair. Nadal was leading 7-6 (8), 6-6. He did not return to the tour until the start of 2023.

In 2026, he hurt his right knee in a fall during the Wimbledon final, and played through a painful right ankle in Shanghai, where Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat him 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the semi-finals. In Vienna, Australian Alex de Minaur beat him 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) in the semi-finals.

How old is Alexander Zverev and where is he from?

Alexander Zverev was born on April 20, 1997, in Hamburg, Germany, and lives in Monte-Carlo. According to his ATP profile, he is 6ft 6in tall.

He is German, though both his parents are Russian. “I won’t play for any other country. I was born and raised in Germany, I went to school there and I have German friends,” he told Bild in April 2019.

Who are Alexander Zverev’s family and his coach?

His father, Alexander Zverev Sr., was a professional player from the Soviet Union, ranked No. 175 in 1985, and moved to Germany with his wife in 1991. His mother, Irina Zvereva, also a former professional, was his main coach until he was 13 or 14, and he credits her for his backhand.

His older brother Mischa, born in 1987, reached a career-high No. 25 in 2017. The brothers met once on the ATP Tour, in Washington in 2018, where Alexander won 6-3, 7-5.

His father is his coach. Zverev has also worked with Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2017, Ivan Lendl from 2018 to 2019 and David Ferrer from 2020 to 2021.

Zverev turned professional in 2013, at 16, after becoming the junior world No. 1. He won his first ATP title in St. Petersburg in 2016.

What are the allegations against Alexander Zverev?

In October 2020, his former girlfriend Olga Sharypova accused him of domestic abuse. At the same time, another former girlfriend, Brenda Patea, said she was pregnant with his child, a daughter born in March 2021. Zverev has denied both women’s accounts.

In October 2021, the ATP opened an investigation into Sharypova’s allegations. In January 2023, it said it had found insufficient evidence to substantiate them.

In October 2023, a Berlin court issued a penalty order against Zverev for bodily harm against Patea, with fines of €450,000. He appealed, and a trial took place between May 31 and June 7, 2024. It ended with an out-of-court settlement of €200,000, and Zverev retains the presumption of innocence.

He is on Instagram as alexzverev123.