ATP Tour

Five facts about Zverev's journey to becoming Year-End No. 1

Alexander Zverev has clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours for the first time in his career, becoming the 20th player in history (since 1973) to do so.

ATPTour.com looks at five facts about Zverev's journey to becoming the year-end World No. 1.

First two major titles in 2026
After losing his first three Grand Slam finals, Zverev broke through to claim his maiden major crown in 2026. Following a semi-final run at the Australian Open, the German lifted his first major trophy at Roland Garros, reached the Wimbledon final five weeks later, then captured his second Grand Slam title at the US Open.

Season leader in this category...
Zverev holds a season-leading 60 match wins in 2026, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. No other player has earned more than 44 victories (Jannik Sinner and Frances Tiafoe).

Alongside his two major crowns, Zverev reached the semi-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo, before finishing runner-up in Madrid. He has won at least two matches at all but two of the knockout tournaments he has played this season (Acapulco and Montreal).

Becomes the 30th member in exclusive ATP No. 1 Club
Zverev has clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, which means that later this year he will reach the top of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time. The earliest Zverev can reach the top of tennis’ mountain is 2 November. He can do so by winning the Shanghai title and reaching the Vienna semi-finals, or making the Shanghai final and winning the Vienna trophy.

Zverev will be the prestigious ATP No. 1 Club's 30th member. The last player to become a part of the exclusive group was Jannik Sinner in June 2024.

Quick-start success
A big part of Zverev's success this season has been earning early leads. The 29-year-old has won the first set in 63 of his 75 matches (84 per cent) and has tallied a 56-7 record in those matches (88.9 per cent).

Joins Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner in this mark...
By guaranteeing his year-end No. 1 finish, Zverev became only the fourth active player to achieve that honour. The others are record-holder Novak Djokovic (8), Carlos Alcaraz (2) and Jannik Sinner (1).