Tennis legend John McEnroe has made a big prediction about Alexander Zverev following the German’s triumph at the 2026 US Open.

Zverev defeated Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in the US Open final on Sunday to secure his second Grand Slam title.

The 29-year-old claimed his maiden major crown at the 2026 French Open, while he was also a runner-up at Wimbledon and a semi-finalist at the Australian Open this year.

Prior to 2026, Zverev had a 0-3 record in Grand Slam finals, and many considered him to be the best player not to win a major.

Speaking on ESPN after he commentated on the US Open final, McEnroe said Zverev was “unlucky” not to have won a Slam before his breakthrough.

“He was arguably unlucky. He should have had a couple of majors before this,” said the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion.

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The American icon went on to back Zverev to finish the 2026 season as the world No 1 ahead of Jannik Sinner.

“So, uh, karma works in crazy ways, and somehow, he’s gonna finish the year the number one ranked player in the world,” McEnroe continued.

“He was certainly the better player today. He played a really strong strategic match, as well as an emotionally intense match, as well as a physical match.

“All those things together, and that’s why he’s so tough to beat in these best-of-fives.”

Following his victory at Flushing Meadows, Zverev — who is the world No 2 — has 9,690 points, which leaves him 1,810 points adrift of world No 1 Jannik Sinner.

Zverev is now, though, top of the Race to Turin — the ranking system that measures points collected in the current season — with 8,650 points.

Sinner, who missed the US Open due to a knee injury, is second in the Race with 7,950 points, while Shelton is third on 4,430 points.

Carlos Alcaraz is fourth in the Race with 4,050 points after his run to the quarter-finals at the US Open. The Spaniard missed both the French Open and Wimbledon due to a right wrist injury.

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