Alexander Zverev has faced widespread criticism following his rise to the world number one ranking in men’s tennis for the first time in his career. The German player secured two Grand Slam titles this season at Roland Garros and the US Open, claiming the top spot after the Vienna Open concluded to become his country’s first number one since Boris Becker in 1991.
Criticism and Response
Detractors have pointed to Zverev’s struggles against top 10 players and his failure to defeat either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz throughout 2026. Following an early exit at the Paris Masters, Zverev addressed the backlash, telling sports.yahoo.com, “I feel like I’m the only world number in tennis history that has to explain why it’s OK for me to be world number one, which I find quite difficult, because I think I deserve to be where I am, even though I lost today.”
Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou stepped in to defend the 29-year-old on Instagram, telling sports.yahoo.com: “Leave Zverev alone, he deserves to be number one. There are a lot of people criticizing the fact that Sinner and Alcaraz were out, that he didn’t beat many top 10s.”
Mouratoglou added: “The guy who has the most points is number one in the world. Fair. He’s probably the guy who’s working the most. There were 128 players at every Grand Slam. Only one holds the trophy. He had the opportunity and he took it. Now the real challenge for him is to keep his number one spot with Alcaraz being healthy and Sinner coming back in January. And if he can manage to beat them, then everybody’s going to shut his mouth.”
Head-to-Head Challenges
Zverev’s record against his main rivals features notable hurdles this year. He has met Alcaraz only once in 2026 during the Australian Open semifinals, where he served for the match before losing a five-set marathon. Against Sinner, Zverev has suffered five consecutive defeats this season, managing just a single set victory during the Wimbledon final.
Preparation for the ATP Finals
Zverev turns his attention to the ATP Finals in Turin, seeking a third year-end tournament title following previous victories in 2018 and 2021. Placed in the John McEnroe group alongside Ben Shelton, Arthur Fils, and Rafael Jodar, Zverev holds favourable historical records against his pool opponents, leading Shelton 6-0 and Fils 5-2 at tour-level.
Zverev opens his campaign this Sunday against Jodar, whom he previously defeated in straight sets during the quarterfinals of Roland Garros in their only prior meeting.
