Zverev Set to Replace Sinner as World No. 1 on Monday

Alexander Zverev will replace Jannik Sinner as men's world No. 1 on Monday, after beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 in Vienna to reach the quarter-finals of the Erste Bank Open. BBC Sport

The world rankings add up each player's points from tournaments over the past year. The player with the most points sits at No. 1. Zverev could not pass Sinner until 2 November at the earliest, which is the Monday the change takes effect.

Zverev had already made sure of something bigger. He was guaranteed to finish 2026 as the year-end No. 1, meaning top of the rankings when the season closes. That was settled on 12 October, when Carlos Alcaraz lost in Shanghai.

The 29-year-old German won two of the sport's four Grand Slams this year, the French Open and the US Open. Grand Slams are the four biggest events on the calendar. Across the 2026 season up to the Vienna report, he has won 64 of his 80 matches.

Zverev is the second German to reach world No. 1, after Boris Becker in 1991. He is also the second-oldest man to top the rankings for the first time. He is the first player other than Sinner or Alcaraz to hold the top spot since Novak Djokovic in June 2024.

The win over Griekspoor was not straightforward. On Tuesday, 27 October, Zverev beat Landaluce in Vienna after saving four match points. A match point is one point away from winning a match, so saving four means he stayed alive four times when a loss was close. ATP Tour

Vienna also has history between these two. In the 2025 final, Sinner came back from a set down to beat Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, claiming his second Vienna Open title. Reuters

For fans, the main point is simple. Zverev will be the man at the top of the rankings for the first time, and he got there by winning the biggest events, not by a technicality. Sinner's reply will come on court, in the weeks ahead.