Is Alexander Zverev ‘lucky’ to be crowned as the world No 1 for 2026?
This is a debate that will rumble on over the next few weeks, as a year that started with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz dominating the ATP Ranking will now end with an alternative name at the top of the lost.
As Zverev served for the match against Carlos Alcaraz and blew his big moment in the Australian Open semi-finals in January, it seemed that the German was destined to continue his story as the nearly man of men’s tennis.
Zverev appeared to be a step or two ahead of all of his rivals aside from Sinner, Alcaraz and, possibly, Novak Djokovic at the start of this year.
At that point, it was impossible to imagine the German would win two of the next three Grand Slam titles, but that is precisely what he did.
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His win at the French Open in Paris in June was a career-defining moment, as Zverev ended his long and often painful wait for Grand Slam glory in stunning fashion.
A few weeks later, he pieced together his best run at Wimbledon and pushed Sinner in a tight opening two sets before losing the final.
Zverev then added a second Grand Slam title, as he won the US Open with a win against Ben Shelton in the final in New York.
Now he has been confirmed as the year-end world No 1, but a glance at social media reaction to his achievement and much of it is negative.
The off-court allegations of domestic abuse against former partners, which he has always vehemently denied, continue to follow Zverev are never far from the discussion when this divisive player is under the spotlight.
Now there is a second charge he is facing as the doubters suggest the only reason his wait for a Grand Slam title ended was due to injury problems affecting Alcaraz and Sinner.
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The top two men in the game have missed large chunks of this season due to their fitness issues and there is no doubt that has helped Zverev claim the prized year-end world No 1 ranking, but he still deserves credit for proving he is the best of the rest in their absence.
Now Zverev needs to start beating Sinner and Alcaraz consistently to confirm we have a new ‘Big 3’ at the top of the men’s game and until he does that, the doubts will remain.
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