Zverev beats Griekspoor in Vienna to clinch World No. 1 for first time

The wait is over. Alexander Zverev will be the new World No. 1 when the ATP Rankings are published on Monday, 2 November, after beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 in the second round of the Erste Bank Open at the Vienna ATP 500 on Thursday.

The 29-year-old top seed knew before the week began that reaching the quarter-finals in the Austrian capital would be enough to overtake Jannik Sinner. He completed the job without fuss: Zverev did not face a single break point against the Brussels champion and broke the Dutchman once in each set to reach his tour-leading 13th quarter-final of the season.

First German since Becker

Zverev becomes the 30th man to hold the top spot since the rankings were introduced in 1973, and only the second German man to do so after Boris Becker in 1991. According to the ATP, he is also the first new member of the No. 1 club since Sinner joined it in June 2024. BBC reporting notes he is the second-oldest player to reach No. 1 for the first time.

"To have the feeling to be on the top of the world is amazing," Zverev said after the match, adding: "I had to wait, but sometimes you've got to wait for the best things in life."

That patience has a history. Zverev came close to the summit in 2022 before a severe ankle injury in his French Open semi-final derailed his season. Four years on, the climb has been completed in his best year yet: titles at Roland Garros and the US Open, a run to the Wimbledon final and, as the ATP had already confirmed before Vienna, the ATP Year-End No. 1 honour for 2026.

A season shaped by absences

The context matters, and Zverev himself has acknowledged it. Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz shared all eight Grand Slam titles across 2024 and 2025, but both have been hampered by injuries this season. Sinner, who has held No. 1 for 95 weeks according to multiple reports, ended his season early in October with a knee problem. Zverev won both of his majors this year without having to face either rival, and according to the BBC he conceded he might not be the best player in the world if Sinner and Alcaraz were healthy and at their peak.

Barty, Del Potro and Kuznetsova on Hall of Fame ballot for Class of 2027

The rankings, however, reward consistency across twelve months, and nobody has delivered more of it in 2026 than the German. According to the BBC, he had won 64 of 80 matches this season, and he arrived in Vienna with his place at the top of the year-end standings already secured – the Austrian event only decided when, not whether, he would replace Sinner.

Fery rematch next

There is still a title to play for in Vienna. Zverev's quarter-final opponent is British No. 1 Arthur Fery, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 on Thursday and sets up a rematch of their Wimbledon semi-final. Alcaraz also remains in the draw after surviving four set points in a second-set tie-break to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 7-6(11).

The new rankings take effect on the same Monday that the Paris Masters begins, with the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin – a title Zverev has already won twice – closing the season.