Much has been made of the quality of Alexander Zverev’s 2026 season after it was announced he would become the ATP Tour world No 1.

Zverev has managed to become a Grand Slam champion this year, but there is a question mark over him due to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s injuries throughout the year.

The German won Roland Garros without Alcaraz and the US Open without Sinner to become a two-time Grand Slam champion following a very long drought where many did not believe he would win a major.

Couple that with his difficult record against top 10 players in 2026, where he has gone 3-9 against the ATP Tour’s very best, and there are several arguments about whether Zverev deserves to be the best-ranked player in tennis.

Now, there is a new stat that suggests he’s one of the weakest world No 1’s in the history of men’s tennis.

Alexander Zverev has joined Carlos Moya with the fewest titles a world No 1 has captured in the 52 weeks before reaching the summit of the rankings.

World number ones with the least titles in the 52 weeks before reaching top spot

- Carlos Moya – 2 (1999)

- Alexander Zverev – 2 (2026)

- Jim Courier – 4 (1992)

- Marcelo Rios – 4 (1998)

- Yevgeny Kafelnikov – 4 (1999)

- Juan Carlos Ferrero – 4 (2003)

- Daniil Medvedev – 4 (2022)

Zverev has only won Roland Garros and the US Open this year, with his last title before that coming at Munich Open in the summer of 2025.

But it is perhaps Zverev’s consistency which has helped him reach the summit of the rankings.

While he hasn’t claimed any other titles, he has reached two other finals in the 2026 season. He was beaten by Sinner in both the Madrid Open and the Wimbledon final.

Zverev has also reached the latter stages of four other Masters tournaments this year, getting to the final four of Indian Wells, the Miami Open, and the Monte Carlo Masters.

In fact, Zverev has only suffered one real early exit at Masters level this year and that came when he lost to Tallon Griekspoor in the second round of the Canadian Open.

More Alexander Zverev news

At lower levels on the ATP Tour, Zverev only suffered one real upset, which came at the Acapulco Open, as he was beaten by Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round of the Mexican event.

If Zverev can win either or both of the Paris Masters or the ATP Finals to round off the 2026 season, even his most ardent critics would have to accept he’s had a stellar season this year.

Zverev begins his Paris Masters campaign with a second round match against Lorenzo Musetti, which is set to take place on Wednesday, 4th November.