Alexander Zverev in line to oust Jannik Sinner from world No 1 spot and Carlos Alcaraz can do nothing
Alexander Zverev has emerged as the unexpected winner of the Grand Slam battle in 2026 and he could now add one of the most glittering prizes in tennis to his collection over the next few months.
The German claimed his first US Open title after comprehensively beating Ben Shelton in the final in New York, as he added a second major title to his collection after he ended his long wait for Grand Slam glory by winning the French Open in June.
After more than a decade of being one of the nearly men in the game, Zverev is now confirming he is part of a new ‘Big 3’ and he might well have a chance to confirm his status over the next few weeks.
The race to finish as year-end world No 1 is on an Zverev may be in pole position to get over the finishing line.
Jannik Sinner is currently sitting at the top of the rankings, but he has plenty of ranking points to defend in the next few weeks as he looks to make his return from a knee injury.
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The ATP Rankings system works on a 52-week rolling calculation and Sinner will be defending 3,500 ranking points from the final weeks of 2025.
That is made up of a win at the ATP 500 tournaments in Beijing and Vienna, with the second of those secured as he beat Zverev in the final last October.
He also won the Paris Masters event and the ATP Finals, ensuring he finished last season on a real high.
By contrast, Zverev only has 1,080 points to defend over the next few weeks and that gives him a real chance to close the gap on Sinner at the top.
The German is currently 1,810 points behind his Italian rival and even if Sinner matches his points haul from last year, Zverev will still have a chance to leap above him.
Carlos Alcaraz is too far back to get in the mix for the year-end world No 1 ranking after he missed a large chunk of 2025 with a wrist injury, so Zverev has a real chance to claim the world No 1 ranking for the first time in his career.
The year-end top ranking is a prestigious title that comes with a trophy that will be presented at the ATP Finals in Turin in November, with the prospect of Zverev collecting that prize in front of Sinner’s Italian fans adding a layer of intrigue to this story.
Even if Zverev finishes the year as world No 1, he has suggested Sinner is still the man to beat despite his better record in the Grand Slam events in 2026.
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“You have to take everything into consideration,” said Zverev after his US Open win. “With Jannik Sinner being injured and Carlos Alcaraz coming back from injury after four months, right now, probably yes. Both of them healthy and both of them at the top of their game, maybe not.
“But if we say right, right now, with Jannik being injured and Carlos coming back from injury, maybe. I mean, four, five months ago when both of them were healthy, I wasn’t.
“I was losing to Jannik all the time. So if everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that.”
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