Alexander Zverev is the new world No. 1. The German replaced Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP Rankings today, becoming the 30th man to hold the position since the rankings began in 1973.
Zverev moves to the summit with 9,550 points, 100 ahead of Sinner on 9,450. The Italian had led the rankings since 13 April, but he has not played since successfully defending his Wimbledon title in July because of a right knee injury. He has also ended his season early, leaving him unable to defend the points he earned last autumn, including 1,000 from his Paris Masters title that came off this week.
Aged 29 years and six months, Zverev is the second-oldest player to reach No. 1 for the first time. Only John Newcombe, who was 30 when he got there in 1974, was older. Zverev is also just the second German man to top the rankings, after Boris Becker, who first reached No. 1 on 28 January 1991.
The date was confirmed last Thursday, when Zverev beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals in Vienna. “To have the feeling to be on the top of the world is amazing,” he said afterwards. He went on to reach the semi-finals, where he lost to Alex de Minaur 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4).
The best season of his career
Zverev began 2026 without a major title and he was long known as the best player ever to never have won a Grand Slam. He now has two, and they are the main reason for his rise.
- Australian Open: semi-finals. He lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set match lasting five hours and 27 minutes.
- Roland Garros: champion. He beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 to win his first major.
- Wimbledon: runner-up. He reached his first final at the All England Club, losing to Sinner 7-6(7), 6-7(2), 3-6, 4-6.
- US Open: champion. He beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in the final.
Those two majors are his only tour-level singles titles of the season. Zverev has yet to win a Masters 1000 event in 2026, although he was runner-up in Madrid and reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Shanghai.
Consistency has been the foundation for Zverev and there are not many that match him in this area. He has won 65 matches, and his run in Vienna was his tour-leading 12th semi-final of the season.
The one clear blemish is his record against Sinner. The Italian beat him all five times they met in 2026: at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Wimbledon.
Year-end No. 1 already secured
Zverev’s climb has been expected for some time. On 12 October, he clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the first time, also a first for a German player.
The achievement adds to a career record that includes 26 tour-level titles, two majors, seven Masters 1000 crowns, two ATP Finals trophies and Olympic gold from Tokyo.
What comes next
Zverev’s first tournament as No. 1 is the Rolex Paris Masters, which runs from 2 to 8 November. He won the title in 2024, and this year’s draw could set up a quarter-final against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
He will then finish his season at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he will try to win the title for a third time.
