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Alexander Zverev had his best shot at a Grand Slam title at the 2026 French Open—and he took advantage.
The men’s world No. 3 defeated Flavio Cobolli in a five-set marathon Sunday at Roland-Garros to take home his maiden Grand Slam title. Zverev had lost at three previous Grand Slam finals: the 2020 US Open, 2024 French Open, and 2025 Australian Open.
But Zverev, 29, did not have to face Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, or Novak Djokovic—winners of the last 15 Grand Slams—en route to the title. Sinner and Djokovic were upset in the first week at Roland-Garros, victims of the heat many struggled with during the tournament in Paris. Alcaraz, last year’s champion, missed the tournament due to injury.
Zverev had lost his last nine head-to-head matchups against Sinner, including the 2025 Australian Open final, the last time he made it to the final of a Grand Slam. He’s lost four of the last five against Alcaraz.
He’s split the last six matches with Djokovic, but is 0–2 against the Serbian at Roland Garros, including a four-set loss in last year’s quarterfinals.
Zverev took home $3.27 million (€2,800,000) with the win, bringing his career earnings total to about $65.85 million. He is expected to jump from No. 7 to No. 4 in career earnings, jumping Sinner, Alcaraz, and retired tennis legend Andy Murray with the win.
The German had previously been the only man in the top 10 of the career earnings list without a Grand Slam title.
Zverev has been accused of physical and emotional abuse by multiple former partners in recent years.
In 2023, the ATP Tour decided not to penalize Zverev after initial allegations from one partner, citing insufficient evidence. A few months later, he was publicly accused by another partner which led to a lawsuit in Germany; the case was settled out of court in 2024.
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