Alexander Zverev will soon become the first German ATP world number one since Boris Becker in 1991, following his career-best season. 

After years of near misses, Zverev finally captured his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros earlier this year, taking advantage of a wide-open draw in Paris before beating Flavio Cobolli in the final. The 29-year-old followed it up by smashing his previous best result at Wimbledon, reaching the final of the Championships. 

Zverev then added to his major tally at the US Open, and has since confirmed he will be crowned the year-end world number one for the first time in his career.

Alexander Zverev on the verge of breaking men’s tennis record

Despite his achievements this year, Zverev is now on the verge of setting an unwanted record in men’s tennis. The German’s two Grand Slams are the only tour-level titles he has clinched this year, with just the indoor hard court season to go. 

If he does not win two more tournaments between now and the end of the season, Zverev will officially hold the record for the outright fewest titles of any year-end world number one in history. The current record is four titles won by a year-end number one, a tally that was recorded by Rafael Nadal in 2019, Novak Djokovic in 2018, Roger Federer in 2009 and Pete Sampras in 1998. 

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After losing in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters, Zverev still has a few opportunities to boost his title tally, the first of which will come at the Vienna Open. From there, Zverev will have his last chance to win an ATP Masters 1000 title in 2026 at the Paris Masters, where he is a former champion.

Zverev will then play at the ATP Finals, where he will attempt to win the year-end tournament for the third time in his career. Zverev could equal the ATP Finals title tallies of John McEnroe and Becker if he triumphs.

Alexander Zverev’s losses in finals this season

While he has only won two titles this year, Zverev has come close to adding to his total on a number of occasions. He has finished as the runner-up at two tournaments this year, the first of which was the Madrid Open during the clay swing.

There, Zverev suffered a heavy defeat to Jannik Sinner, falling to the Italian in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Sinner then handed Zverev his second final loss of 2026 at Wimbledon, coming back from a set down in the championship match to claim his fifth Grand Slam title.

As well as his losses in finals, Zverev has been knocked out in the semifinals of seven competitions this year, including the Australian Open, where he was a service game away from advancing to the title bout. He has also lost in the semifinals of four ATP Masters 1000 events.