Alexander Zverev is not yet officially the ATP number one, but he will be very soon.

Zverev can become number one by reaching the quarterfinals of this week’s Vienna Open, where he is the top seed. The position is currently occupied by Jannik Sinner, but the Italian will play no further part this season because of his knee injury.

How long do you think Alexander Zverev keeps the number one ranking?

He is now guaranteed to be year end number one after Carlos Alcaraz's shock loss in Shanghai…

It would mark the first time in his career that he has risen to top spot in the ATP rankings, with Zverev set to become the oldest year-end number one, and the first German man to achieve the feat. There has, however, been plenty of noise surrounding his impending achievement, largely because of his rivals.

Both Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have been absent for large chunks of the season, with Zverev not needing to beat either en route to winning the French Open and the US Open. But Alcaraz believes the German is worthy of his incoming rank, and that belief is certainly one worth listening to, especially given his detailed reasoning.

Carlos Alcaraz is correct about Alexander Zverev deserving the year-end No. 1 spot

Speaking ahead of his first match at the Vienna Open, the Spanish superstar said of his German counterpart: “Well deserved, to be honest. Tennis is not only about stepping on the court and playing, and trying to play better, or the best player who plays that day is the best. It is about the consistency you have during the whole year.

“There are some players who have a better style, better level. And there are some players that have better physical conditions. And I would say, Sascha has both, great, great level, and great physical conditions, because he’s able to play the whole year, making finals, week after week, and not getting injured, or not getting fatigued, and keep winning, keep winning during the whole year.

“So, I would say, it is really well deserved, two-time Grand Slam champion this year, and, yeah, like I said, I’m just really happy about it, because I know how hard he’s been chasing that achievement, and, I would say, is, I really well deserved.”

First and foremost, it is far from the fault of Zverev that he did not need to overcome Sinner and Alcaraz in Paris and New York. The two-time Grand Slam winner only needed to beat what was in front of him, and he did that in impressive fashion. Plenty of other players had the same opportunities, but it was the veteran who stepped up.

It is also far from Sinner and Alcaraz’s fault for their injuries, but in that same light, Zverev deserves praise for the way he has clearly looked after his body over the years, and how he continues to do so amid the busy calendar.

Simply put, the current points situation speaks for itself, with the soon-to-be number one having done enough to reach pole position. And he arguably deserves it more than any other player over the course of 2026. Of course, both Sinner and Alcaraz should also be praised for their stunning efforts when fit and available, having each claimed a Grand Slam title.

Intriguingly, Zverev could be reunited with Alcaraz in Vienna this week, with the pair potentially meeting in the final should they both make it that far. Another clash is on the cards at the ATP Finals, which Sinner is unfortunately missing out on because of injury.