Alexander Zverev Will Be World No. 1 on Monday, the First German Since Boris Becker

Alexander Zverev will be world No. 1 for the first time when the ATP rankings are published on Monday 2 November. He is the first German man to reach the top since Boris Becker in 1991, the 30th player to hold the position since the rankings began in 1973, and, at 29 years and 196 days, the second-oldest man to get there for the first time, behind John Newcombe. He secured it on Thursday 29 October by beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 in the second round of the Vienna Open, which moved him past Jannik Sinner in the live rankings.

Defeat in Vienna Changes Nothing

Zverev lost his semi-final to Alex de Minaur on Saturday, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), de Minaur’s first win over him at a tour event. It does not affect the outcome. The live rankings put Zverev on 9,550 points and Sinner on 9,450, and Sinner cannot add to his total: he has not played since winning Wimbledon in July, and a right knee injury has ended his season.

How the Points Moved

Rankings run on a rolling 52-week basis, so points from an event a year ago drop off when it comes round again. Sinner won both Vienna and the Paris Masters in 2025, and those 1,500 points leave his total by 2 November, while Zverev had far less to lose. Our earlier story set out the arithmetic.

The Season That Did It

Zverev was first ranked world No. 2 in June 2022 and finished 2024 there, without a Grand Slam title to show for it. In 2026 he won Roland-Garros at his 40th attempt at a major, beating Flavio Cobolli in five sets, and added the US Open, becoming the fourth man in the Open Era to win his second major in the same year as his first. He was 64-16 for the season when he secured the No. 1 ranking.

“I had to wait,” he said after the Griekspoor win. He had already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking on 12 October, becoming the first German to finish a season on top and, at 29 years and 217 days on the day the year-end rankings are set, the oldest player to do it for the first time, three days older than Andre Agassi in 1999.

Becker’s Record in Sight

Becker held the No. 1 ranking twice in 1991, for 12 weeks in all. Zverev has the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals still to play this season. If he stays at the top through the winter, he would pass Becker’s total early in 2027. He already has seven Masters 1000 titles, two ATP Finals titles and an Olympic gold medal, and a third Finals title in Turin would make him the eighth man with at least three.

What Comes Next

Zverev is the top seed at the Paris Masters, which starts on Monday 2 November. He has a first-round bye and meets the winner of Lorenzo Musetti and Hubert Hurkacz in the second round. The ATP Finals in Turin follow from 15 to 22 November. In Vienna, de Minaur plays Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final. The full table is on our ATP rankings page, and his schedule is on his next match page.