On Sunday 13th September 2026, Alexander Zverev won the US Open to claim his second Grand Slam of the year. Having previously lost in the final of a major three times, and at the last-four stage a further seven times, things have really turned round for the German since the French Open this year.
He lost the final of the Australian Open in 2025 and went out in the semis this year, but he claimed the first Slam of his career in Paris this spring. He then backed that up with a fine run to the final at Wimbledon, where he won the first set but eventually lost in four sets to defending champ and world number one Jannik Sinner.
He came into the final major of the year as the top seed, with Sinner unable to compete due to injury and Alcaraz seeded second and making his return after a long injury lay-off. Zverev justified his position as number one seed by claiming his second career Grand Slam. The win cements his place as number two in the ATP world rankings, and his 1,900-point game, combined with a 1,600-point loss for Alcaraz means that he is now over 4,000 ranking points clear of the Spaniard.
Perhaps more importantly, the fact that Sinner lost 1,300 points this week means that the Italian is now fewer than 2,000 clear of Zverev. When Sinner was winning match after match at the start of this season – he won five ATP 1000 events in a row (including one in Paris at the end of 2025) – it seemed his position as world number one was secure for the foreseeable future.
However, Sinner’s surprise early loss at the French Open and injury in New York, combined with the incredible performances of Zverev, means that the prospect of us having a new world number one is no longer far-fetched. It will be interesting to see what happens at the ATP Finals if all of the top three are fit and able to compete.
Zverev Dents Home Hopes
Zverev with the new hardware 🏆 pic.twitter.com/5VnkcybMdh
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 13, 2026
Zverev’s win at the US Open will have been popular with neutrals as it will have given the German closure on the harrowing loss he suffered in the final of this event in 2020. Back then, appearing in his first Grand Slam final, he roared into a two sets to love lead over the now-retired Austrian Dominic Thiem. He then led 5-3 in the decider and served for the Championship, only to see Thiem come out on top in a classic final.
The Austrian won a fifth-set tiebreaker 8-6 to claim the only major of his career, but it was a painful loss for Zverev. That will have made this win all the sweeter, but while neutrals were on his side, the majority of fans present in Queens would have been cheering on home favourite Ben Shelton.
Shelton is just 23, the same age as Alcaraz, and following his loss in the final of his home Slam, he moved up to a career-best rank of four. He played some brilliant tennis over the course of the tournament but came up just short against the more experienced player. Even so, his time will surely come.
Shelton, from Atlanta, made the last four at the US Open in 2023 and got to the same stage at the Australian Open last year. However, this was the ninth seed’s first Grand Slam final. He has had a poor year at the majors, making the quarters in Australia but then losing in the second round at the French and first round at SW19.
That said, he defended his Canadian Open title, claiming his second ATP 1000 title in the process. He has a game that suits the surface and was certainly one of the dark horses, especially with Sinner absent and doubts over the match readiness of Alcaraz.
The last US winner was Andy Roddick in 2003, while the last home player to make the final was Taylor Fritz in 2024. Fritz lost in straight sets to Sinner, and the home fans were right to feel that a win for an American was overdue. Shelton fared much better than his compatriot two years ago, but in the end Zverev was just too good.
The champion won 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2, and was so focused on match point that he did not even realise the state of the match and that he had taken the title. When he did eventually comprehend what he had just done, he broke into a slightly embarrassed smile and came to the net to console a devastated-looking Shelton.
Is Zverev Ready to Crash Big Two?
Zverev’s serve, which he has developed and improved dramatically over the past year, was a potent weapon. His confidence and self-belief were also key but quite how he will fare against Alcaraz and Sinner when the pair are fully fit remains to be seen.
Due to off-court issues, Zverev is far from universally popular, but for those who care only about tennis, or stick strongly to the adage innocent until proven guilty, it would be great if the big two were to become a big three. Time will tell if the German has the all-round game to make that happen.