Zverev clinches world number one spot after Vienna victory
Alexander Zverev will replace Jannik Sinner as the ATP men's world number one at his earliest opportunity after reaching the quarter-finals of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on 29 October 2026. He secured the position with a 6-4 7-5 win over Tallon Griekspoor.
Zverev, 29, becomes the 30th man to reach ATP world number one and is the second German to do so after Boris Becker in 1991. He was already guaranteed to finish 2026 as the ATP's leading player, and his victory over Griekspoor ensures he will rise to the summit on Monday. "It's been a wait but sometimes you have to wait for the best things in life," Zverev said. "I'm super happy, super thrilled - I have no words for this year." He is the second oldest man to top the rankings for the first time.
The result capped a season in which Zverev won two Grand Slam titles and recorded 64 wins from 80 matches. Both of his major triumphs came without facing either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, and he did not meet a top-10 opponent until beating Ben Shelton in the New York final.
At the start of 2026, Alcaraz led the rankings with 12,050 points and Sinner sat on 11,500, numbers that underlined their dominance after splitting the eight Grand Slam titles in 2024 and 2025. Third-ranked Zverev had 5,110 points, a total the report noted was numerically closer to the 2,221st player in the world than to the top two.
Zverev had already secured the year-end number one spot when Alcaraz lost in Shanghai on 12 October, but he knew he could not overtake Sinner until 2 November at the earliest. By beating Griekspoor he became the first man other than Sinner and Alcaraz to top the rankings since Novak Djokovic in June 2024. Zverev conceded he would "maybe not" be the world's best player if both his rivals were "healthy and at the top of their game."
British number one Arthur Fery continued his run in Vienna with a 6-4 5-7 6-4 victory over Lorenzo Musetti, avenging a three-set defeat by Musetti in the US Open first round in August. Trailing 4-2 in the deciding set, the 24-year-old broke straight back and, despite what seemed to be cramp, served out the win. Beating former world number five Musetti — now ranked 26th after injury — represented Fery's biggest win by ranking on the regular ATP Tour and followed his unexpected run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.
Daniil Medvedev survived a scare against Cameron Norrie, saving match point to win their last-16 match 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-1); Norrie served for the match at 5-3 40-30. Norrie has slipped to 41st in the world rankings and has exited each of the past three Grand Slams in the first round, the report stated. Medvedev, who had won the Almaty title last week, was left angrily punching the surface when he fell a break down. Elsewhere, Carlos Alcaraz progressed with a 6-1 7-6 (13-11) win over Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Zverev's victory moves him into the Vienna quarter-finals, where he will face British number one Arthur Fery. The win also guarantees he will begin Monday as the ATP world number one.