Alexander Zverev has finally joined tennis’ elite in 2026 by winning his first Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and the US Open.
For a long time, the German star was considered one of the best-ever players to never win a Grand Slam, but his excellent 2026 has nixed those claims.
However, despite his incredible feats in 2026, many have suggested that Zverev has only become a Grand Slam champion due to injuries to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz was forced out of Roland Garros due to a wrist injury, while a knee injury kept Sinner out of the US Open, and Zverev capitalised to lift both trophies.
Zverev’s brother, Mischa Zverev, has now defended the two-time Grand Slam champion from that criticism, suggesting Alcaraz and Sinner have shown a weakness.
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“Why weren’t they there? Because they were injured,” said Zverev in an interview with Sport1. “Why do we get injured? Because, in some way, you’re not strong enough, or because you’ve done too much. Because you didn’t rest when you needed to.”
Zverev then suggested his brother’s return from injury in the 2023 season was nothing short of miraculous.
“Some people said he would never return to the level he had before. And instead, he came back and played like this. The possibility exists, we’re working toward it, and we’ll see what lies ahead.
Elsewhere in the interview, Zverev also broke his silence on his brother’s ball bouncing, which many criticised for its length at the US Open.
“It’s like when you win a Grand Slam tournament and someone complains about the color of your socks,” joked Zverev. “When someone wins and succeeds, there will always be someone saying: ‘Personally, I don’t like this or that.'”
Zverev returned to action following his US Open triumph at the Davis Cup, where he defeated Matej Dodig and Dino Prizmic in straight sets to help Germany topple Croatia.
He will next be in action at the Laver Cup, where he will appear for Team Europe alongside teammates Alcaraz, Jakub Mensik, Rafael Jodar, Flavio Cobolli, and Casper Ruud.
Team Europe, led by Yannick Noah and Tim Henman, will play a Team World featuring Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, Learner Tien, Brandon Nakashima, Alexander Bublik, and Francisco Cerundolo.
Following the Laver Cup, Zverev will head to the ATP Tour’s Asian swing, where his first tournament will be an ATP 500 event at the China Open in Beijing.
With a very good chance he could become the world No 1, the end of the ATP Tour season in 2026 could be just as successful as his first nine months.
