Alexander Zverev becomes first German men's world No. 1 since Becker

On Oct. 12, 2026, Alexander Zverev was confirmed as the ATP world No. 1 following Carlos Alcaraz's third-round elimination at the Shanghai Masters, making him the first German man to reach the top of the rankings since Boris Becker. The confirmation ends a 35-year absence of a German at No. 1.

The 29-year-old has won multiple major titles and been a regular among the sport's elite; in 2026 he captured both the French Open and the US Open. Those Grand Slam victories, together with season-long consistency, have established Zverev as one of the leading players on the ATP Tour this year.

Zverev entered the Shanghai Masters as the leading contender for the year-end No. 1 honour, and Carlos Alcaraz's third-round exit at that event confirmed the change at the summit. His performances throughout the season positioned him to control his own destiny in the rankings race.

Jannik Sinner has not played since winning Wimbledon in July because of a knee injury and missed the North American hard-court swing, including the US Open, as well as the China Open in Beijing and the Shanghai Masters. Sinner's withdrawal from Shanghai, announced earlier this month, further weakened his standing in the battle to finish the season at the top.

Before his injury-enforced layoff, the reigning Wimbledon champion compiled a 44-3 win-loss record and had collected five ATP Masters 1000 titles prior to his triumph at the All England Club. Those results underline the level Sinner had reached earlier in the campaign prior to his absence.

Boris Becker remains the only German man to have previously occupied the top ranking, having topped the ATP list twice in 1991 for a combined total of 12 weeks; his brief reign has stood as the benchmark for German men's tennis for more than three decades.

With Alcaraz's Shanghai exit confirming the shift, Zverev is on course to finish the 2026 season as the world's top-ranked player.