Alexander Zverev believes working on his fitness away from the court is crucial to competing at the highest level, after securing the world No. 1 ranking in Vienna.
The German will rise to the top of the rankings for the first time on Monday after defeating Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open. At 29, Zverev is the second-oldest player to reach No. 1 for the first time and the second German player to seal the milestone after Boris Becker in 1991.
Zverev’s rise to the top occurs during what has been a stellar season for him at the majors. He won both the French Open and US Open, and reached the final at Wimbledon. Zverev has capitalised on his peers’ setbacks, with Carlos Alcaraz missing nearly five months of action earlier this year due to a wrist injury. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner hasn’t played since Wimbledon due to a knee problem.
“I think that fitness, being healthy and fit, is an absolutely massive part of sport,” Zverev told reporters in Vienna.
“The first six months of the season or whatever it was, I lost four or five times in a row to Jannik. And there’s absolutely no question that he was the best player in the world.
“That moment, and he was beating me all the time, and I would be an idiot to sit here and say that I was equally as good as Jannik. I was the second best player, because Carlos was injured and he was not able to compete.”
Zverev’s surge wasn’t just down to the misfortunes of his rivals. He says his off-season training plays a crucial role in his development. During this period, the focus is less on the court and more on fitness.
“When I do an off-season in December, I train for four weeks,” he explained.
“My training day looks like I do five or six hours of fitness training every day, and I play maybe one hour, one hour fifteen minutes of tennis.
“My main focus of the off-season shifts only towards physical training and being fit, being healthy, and being able to play a fifth set the same way you play a first set.
“That’s a massive part of sport.”
After breaking the stronghold of Sinner and Alcaraz, who won nine Grand Slam titles between them from 2024 to 2026, Zverev hopes to challenge them both in the new season and beyond. In their head-to-head, he trails Alcaraz 6-7 and Sinner 4-11.
“I’m looking forward to Jannik and Carlos being healthy again, and hopefully competing with them for many more years, not just next year,” he said.
“Hopefully I can continue to make it interesting with those two guys as well.“
Zverev will play Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery in the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open on Friday.
