Once again asked if he is the best in the world, Zverev claims “the best 12 months”
At the ATP Finals in Turin, after his win over Rafael Jodar, the world No 1 split the honours with Jannik Sinner: the Grand Slams for himself, the Masters 1000 events for the Italian, and, all things considered, a year that he ranks above everyone else’s.
Alexander Zverev, ATP Finals 2026 | © Imagoe / PsNewz
Alexander Zverev was asked again in Turin whether he is the best player in the world, and once again he gave a nuanced answer. Speaking at the ATP Finals after his 6-4, 6-4 win over Rafael Jodar on Sunday, the world No 1 said he was “the best player in the world, for sure” at the Grand Slams, handed the Masters 1000 events to Jannik Sinner, and concluded that overall he has had “the best 12 months”.
The question came from the same journalist who had put it to him after the US Open final in New York. His answer then was more guarded: “If everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that.”
Zverev: “A complicated question”
This time, Zverev began by acknowledging the difficulty of the exercise, and the absence of two rivals. “It’s a complicated question, because I definitely think I had the best season out of everybody,” he said. “I think, out of respect, you have to take into consideration that, yes, Jannik has been injured since Wimbledon. There’s no question about that. And Carlos has been injured for a little bit of time this year, as well.”
That is a reference to Sinner, out for the rest of the season with a knee injury since Wimbledon, and to Carlos Alcaraz.
Grand Slams for him, Masters 1000 for Sinner
Zverev then split the season in two. “I think at Grand Slams, which are the biggest tournaments in the world, and this is what I always try to achieve and this is what my aim was this year, I was the best player in the world, for sure. I won two of them, made semis of another one, was one service game from making the final there, and was in the final of Wimbledon as well.”
He did not name the tournaments, but his 2026 record is easy to fill in: Roland-Garros and the US Open for the two titles, a five-set semi-final defeat to Alcaraz at the Australian Open (7-5 in the fifth), and a Wimbledon final lost to Sinner.
On the Masters 1000 side, he was just as clear. “Grand Slams, yes, for sure. Masters events, no question that Jannik, he’s won the first five, he hasn’t lost a match this year when he played a Masters event.” Sinner beat Zverev 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes in the Madrid final, his fifth consecutive Masters 1000 title.
Zverev: “The best 12 months”
His conclusion came down to a matter of time frame. “But I think taking everything into consideration, it’s about having the best season and the best 12 months, and I think I have had the best 12 months.”
World No 1 for two weeks, Zverev lost his opening match at the Rolex Paris Masters to Lorenzo Musetti, his first match at the top of the rankings. In Turin he opened the John McEnroe Group with a win, and the draw gave him a US Open final rematch with Ben Shelton in the same group. The top two in each group reach the semi-finals on Saturday 21 November.
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