Alexander Zverev Reaches No. 1 as Fitness Fuels His Grand Slam Push
Zverev says off-season fitness work is central to reaching No. 1, with Sinner and Alcaraz looming as rivals when they return to full health.
Alexander Zverev hits a backhand during a Men's Singles match on Day Five of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Thursday, September 3, 2026 in Flushing, NY. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/USTA)
Alexander Zverev’s first climb to world No. 1 has come with a clear explanation from the player himself: the work that builds his game happens well beyond the baseline. After beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Vienna Open quarter-finals, Zverev said physical preparation and staying healthy are central to competing at the highest level.
The ranking milestone takes effect Monday. At 29, Zverev will be the second-oldest player to reach No. 1 for the first time, and the second German to do so after Boris Becker in 1991. It caps a season in which he has won the French Open and US Open and reached the Wimbledon final.
Fitness as the foundation
Zverev described an off-season routine built around conditioning rather than court time. In December, he trains for four weeks, spending five or six hours each day on fitness work and roughly an hour to an hour and 15 minutes playing tennis. His stated goal is to carry the same level through a fifth set as he can bring to the first.
“I think that fitness, being healthy and fit, is an absolutely massive part of sport,” he told reporters in Vienna.
That emphasis offers a useful lens on his rise. A season at the top of the men’s game demands more than shot-making: long matches and a packed schedule test whether a player can sustain his level deep into tournaments. Zverev’s approach puts that physical base at the centre of his preparation, with the off-season serving as a concentrated period to build it.
His comments also carry a measure of candour about the rankings race. Zverev said he lost four or five times in a row to Jannik Sinner during the first six months of the season. He acknowledged that Sinner was the best player in the world during that stretch, and described himself as second best while Carlos Alcaraz was unable to compete.
Alcaraz missed nearly five months earlier this year with a wrist injury, while Sinner hasn’t played since Wimbledon because of a knee problem. Zverev’s ascent has therefore arrived amid major interruptions for two rivals, but he hasn’t presented the ranking as proof that he had already matched Sinner at his strongest. That distinction makes his view of the moment more measured: the ranking is a landmark, while the rivalry still has plenty to settle.
A ranking milestone, with rivals in view
Sinner and Alcaraz won nine Grand Slam titles between them from 2024 to 2026. Zverev now has a chance to challenge their grip on the sport, but the head-to-head records show the size of that task. He trails Alcaraz 6-7 and Sinner 4-11.
Those figures give his next chapter a sharp focus. Reaching No. 1 marks a major career achievement; turning it into a durable hold will depend in part on how often Zverev can test himself against both players when they are healthy. He said he hopes to compete with them for many years, not just next season, and to keep making the contests interesting.
For Zverev, the physical work is tied to that longer ambition. His description of the off-season puts endurance alongside match preparation, with the fifth set as the clearest measure of whether the training has carried onto the court. It’s a practical target for a player aiming to stay in the fight across long matches and full seasons.
His immediate task is at the Vienna Open, where he is due to face Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery in Friday’s quarter-finals. The match offers a chance to build on the win that secured his rise to No. 1. Beyond Vienna, the more telling test will come when Sinner and Alcaraz return to regular competition: Zverev’s new ranking raises the stakes, and his fitness-first plan is designed to help him meet them there.
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