Alexander Zverev is set to rise to the prime spot in the ATP rankings for the first time in his profession after recording his best-ever season.
Zverev captured his first two Grand Slam titles in 2026 after several near-misses over the years, rising triumphant at Roland Garros and the US Open. The German also recorded his deepest marketing campaign at Wimbledon this season, surpassing his prior personal best, a fourth-round end, by reaching the closing of the Championships.
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Despite securing world quantity one standing, Zverev has not crushed either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz on the ATP Tour this season. He lost to the Spaniard in their sole assembly of 2026 at the Australian Open and has come up short in each of his 5 clashes with the Italian.
Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty Images
Patrick Mouratoglou praises Alexander Zverev’s 2026 season
Amid claims from some followers that Zverev does not deserve to be the world quantity one, Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, has come to the 29-year-old’s defence. “Zverev might not be the best player, but he’s the number one in the world, and he fully deserves it,” Mouratoglou said on Instagram.
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“The first way I rate the situation is that your ranking is your value. If others are injured, bad luck for them. Staying healthy when you’re a professional athlete is a real skill. Your health and your fitness are part of it.
“There are the same discussions about Rafa. Oh, if Rafa would not have been injured, he would have won X Grand Slams. Yeah, but there is no if. He’s quantity one because he deserves to be quantity one. Do I think that the two other guys are higher than him? Yes, but they’re not quantity one. He’s quantity one.
“He won Roland Garros, and then the US Open. Technically, there were 128 guys who could win it and he did. Twice. He also showed a lot of mental qualities. He didn’t play well, but he won the tournament and that’s a huge quality. Tennis is a very mental sport.
“We had questions about how sturdy Zverev was. He had so many events to win Grand Slams and he just did not make it. So at some level, people began to think, oh, properly, possibly mentally he’s not in a position to. And I think this 12 months there was a actual breakthrough.
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“Twice during the season, first at Roland Garros, suddenly Alcaraz and Sinner are out and that’s a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. And he made it. It was the first big breakthrough. And then again at the US Open, Alcaraz and Sinner were out.
“So again, he turned the quantity one favorite and he made it a second time. So I think he actually confirmed a lot of mental energy this 12 months, which is something that he was not in a position to show in the previous. Maybe he’s not the best participant, but he’s the quantity one in the world.”
Zverev has taken just one set off Sinner this year, which he managed in the Wimbledon final. He took two sets off Alcaraz in their Australian Open semifinal meeting and even served for the match, but failed to get over the line.
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