Alexander Zverev will be ranked world No. 1 from Monday 2 November, replacing Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP Rankings, ATP Tour reported.
The German made sure of it on Thursday 29 October, beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-4 7-5 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna to reach the quarter-finals, BBC Sport reported. He was already guaranteed to finish 2026 as the ATP’s leading player.
Sinner has held top spot since 13 April, according to ATP Tour.
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Without a Break Point
Zverev did not face a break point against Griekspoor, Tennis Majors reported. A partner report on the same site gave the numbers: he won all 11 of his service games, hit 11 aces and won 35 of 39 points behind his first serve. He converted two of six break points, with 30 winners and 10 unforced errors to Griekspoor’s 21 and 17.
Griekspoor, ranked No. 50, had come to Vienna as the Brussels champion, according to that report.
At match point a smash from Zverev made part of the electronic board behind Griekspoor malfunction, Fox Sports reported, carrying AFP copy. The umpire covered the panel with a towel, and Zverev closed out the match with an unreturnable serve.
His week in Vienna had nearly ended in the first round. On Tuesday 27 October he had to save four match points against Spain’s Martin Landaluce, Fox Sports reported. He won 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (11), according to the Tennis Majors partner report.
Former world No. 1 Thomas Muster honoured him in a ceremony in Vienna, Tennis Majors reported.
A Long Wait
Zverev is 29. He is the second-oldest man to reach No. 1 for the first time, BBC Sport reported. At 29 years and six months, only John Newcombe was older, according to ATP Tour.
He is also the second German man to top the rankings, after Boris Becker in 1991, the BBC reported.
“It’s been a wait but sometimes you have to wait for the best things in life,” Zverev told BBC Sport.
He spoke at more length at his press conference in Vienna, where most of his answers were translated from German, Tennis Majors reported. On becoming No. 1, he said: “I think it’s a situation I’m ready for. I’m old enough, and I’ve played on the tour long enough to know how to deal with it.”
One reporter put it to him that holding No. 1 through the Australian Open would mean 13 weeks at the top, which the reporter said was one more than Becker’s German record. Zverev replied: “One week more than Boris? Very good. Then the win was worth it.”
The Season
His 2026 has brought two major titles, the French Open and the US Open, BBC Sport reported. He also reached the Wimbledon final and an Australian Open semi-final, according to ATP Tour.
He had 64 wins from 80 matches at the time of the BBC’s report on 29 October. That was the most wins on the ATP Tour, according to the Tennis Majors partner report, which also noted that he won the Vienna title in 2021.
The year-end No. 1 was settled earlier. Zverev secured it when Carlos Alcaraz lost in Shanghai on 12 October, the BBC reported.
Alcaraz went into 2026 on 12,050 ranking points and Sinner on 11,500, according to BBC Sport. Zverev, third, had 5,110.
The Rivals
Sinner and Alcaraz both missed long stretches of 2026 through injury. Sinner ended his season at the start of October with a knee injury, Fox Sports reported, carrying AFP copy.
Zverev’s two majors came without facing either of them, BBC Sport reported. He did not meet a top-10 player at all until he beat Ben Shelton in the US Open final.
He has been candid about it. Zverev conceded he would “maybe not” be the world’s best player if both rivals were “healthy and at the top of their game”, according to the BBC.
He gave his answer on Sinner at the Vienna press conference mostly in English, Tennis Majors reported: “In the first six months of the season, I lost four or five times in a row to Jannik. There’s absolutely no question that he was the best player in the world at that moment.”
He also said of Sinner: “In terms of pure tennis, when he’s fit, he’s the best tennis player in the world. No question.” And on fitness: “I think fitness, being healthy and being fit is an absolute massive part of sport.”
He told BBC Sport he was “super happy, super thrilled”. He added: “I have no words for this year.”
His next match in Vienna was a quarter-final against Arthur Fery, a repeat of their Wimbledon semi-final, the BBC reported.
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The 30th Man at the Top
Zverev becomes the 30th player to reach No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, ATP Tour reported. The rankings were first published in 1973, and he will be 29 years and 196 days old when the new list comes out on Monday 2 November, according to Fox Sports, carrying AFP copy.
He is the first man other than Sinner and Alcaraz to hold top spot since Novak Djokovic in June 2024, according to BBC Sport.
The new rankings take effect on Monday 2 November.
Sources: ATP Tour, “Zverev to become World No. 1 next Monday, 2 November”, 29 October 2026 (https://www.atptour.com/en/news/zverev-to-reach-world-no-1-2-november-2026); BBC Sport, “Zverev seals world number one spot after win”, 29 October 2026 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/articles/cwdr8m8g4jz2o); Tennis Majors, ““A situation I’m ready for”: Zverev, the new world No. 1, in his own words”, 30 October 2026 (https://www.tennismajors.com/atp/vienna-erste-bank-open-atp-500/a-situation-im-ready-for-zverev-the-new-world-no-1-in-his-own-words-864414.html); Tennis Majors, “Zverev clinches world No. 1 in style, beating Griekspoor to reach Vienna quarterfinals”, 29 October 2026 (https://www.tennismajors.com/atp/zverev-clinches-world-no-1-in-style-beating-griekspoor-to-reach-vienna-quarterfinals-864371.html); Fox Sports (AFP), “Tennis’ new No.1 crowned as injured star’s absence, German’s rise sparks rankings shift”, 29 October 2026 (https://www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/tennis-2026-alexander-zverev-claims-no1-spot-on-atp-rankings-jannik-sinner-vienna-open-results-videos-highlights-news/news-story/1794c3dd40d773edd5b7ab3c489fb0d1)
Photo: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Alexander Zverev at the 2018 Citi Open finals in Washington.