Alexander Zverev finally rose to the No. 1 spot in the men’s tennis rankings on Monday, 2 November 2026, a reward for a dominant season during which he became a two-time Grand Slam champion, the Associated Press reported.
Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli for the French Open title in June in his fourth major final, months before the 29-year-old German defeated Ben Shelton to lift the US Open trophy at Flushing Meadows in September.
Those triumphs capped a season in which Zverev also reached the final at Wimbledon this year, falling to Jannik Sinner, and the Australian Open semi-finals. He is guaranteed to finish the season as No. 1, and holds a 65-17 record this year, according to the Associated Press.
He became the 30th male player to reach No. 1, and the oldest in more than 50 years to top the rankings for the first time, trailing only John Newcombe, who was 30 years old when he reached the top spot in 1974. Zverev said: “I had to wait, but sometimes you’ve got to wait for the best things in life. I’m super happy, super thrilled.”
Zverev is just the second German man to become No. 1 after Boris Becker.
Sinner, who had held the top spot since 13 April, dropped to second, ahead of Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner announced the end of his season three weeks ago because of inflammation in his right knee.
Zverev is set to compete in his first tournament as No. 1 at the Paris Masters this week.
Source: Associated Press — https://www.lanacion.com.ar/usa/alexander-zverevs-long-wait-for-no-1-ends-after-dominant-season-nid02112026/
