Alexander Zverev suggests the advantage he has over Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner after becoming world number one

Alexander Zverev will sit above both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner when the ATP rankings are updated.

Zverev confirmed he will become world number one next week after beating Tallon Griekspoor to reach the Vienna Open quarter-finals.

The German also knows that he will end the year as world number one, with Sinner ending his season early due to a knee injury.

Both Sinner and Alcaraz have spent lengthy times on the sidelines with injury this year, and Zverev has explained the advantage he thinks he has over both players.

Alexander Zverev claims ‘being fit is an absolutely massive part of sport’

Prior to Zverev winning his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, either Alcaraz or Sinner had won nine consecutive major titles. Alcaraz spent nearly five months on the sidelines after suffering a wrist injury during the clay season, while Sinner has been out of action since beating Zverev in the Wimbledon final in July.

Despite some suggesting that Zverev is not actually the best player in the world despite becoming world number one, he believes that fitness is a significant part of being a tennis player and explained how much focus he puts on it during the off-season, as he stated how much he is looking forward to competing against Alcaraz and Sinner next year.

“This is my personal opinion, I think that fitness, being healthy and being fit is an absolutely massive part of sport,” Zverev said in his post-match press conference in Vienna after beating Griekspoor.

“I think the first six months of the season or whatever it was, I lost four or five times in a row to Jannik and there’s absolutely no question that he was the best player in the world in that moment and he was beating me all the time, I would be an idiot to sit here and say that I was equally as good as Jannik, I wasn’t. I was the second best player because Carlos was injured and he was not able to compete, and at that stage I was the second best player in the world.

“But I think when I do an off-season in December and I train for four weeks, my training day looks like I do five or six hours of fitness training every day, and I do maybe one hour or one hour and 15 of tennis. So my main focus in the off-season shifts only towards physical training and being fit, being healthy and being able to play a fifth set the same way you play a first set, and I think that’s a massive part of sport.

“I am looking forward to Jannik and Carlos being healthy again, and hopefully competing with them for many, many more years, you know not just next year but many years to come. Hopefully I can continue making it interesting with those two guys as well.”

Alexander Zverev’s Head-to-head vs Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

While there is no doubt that Zverev has had the advantage over Alcaraz and Sinner in the fitness department, the same cannot be said in terms of their head-to-heads.

Zverev and Alcaraz were level in their head-to-head coming into the 2026 season, but after their dramatic semi-final at the Australian Open earlier this year, it is the latter who leads 7-6.

The head-to-head between Zverev and Sinner is much more one-sided. Zverev actually led the head-to-head 4-1 after the 2023 season, but since then Sinner has won their last nine matches. This includes Sinner winning all five matches they have played in 2026, with their most recent in the Wimbledon final.

Zverev will not have to play Sinner again until at least 2027, but he could play Alcaraz this week at the Vienna Open if they both reach the final.

The Vienna Open is currently at the quarter-final stage, where Zverev will face Arthur Fery, while Alcaraz takes on Tommy Paul.