Alexander Zverev Wins US Open for Second Grand Slam Title

Alexander Zverev won the 2026 US Open title on Sunday, defeating rising American player Ben Shelton to secure his second Grand Slam crown in less than four months. The German’s victory followed his French Open triumph in June and came in his third consecutive major final after a runner-up finish at Wimbledon.

The US Open success marks a major shift in Zverev’s career narrative after more than a decade that included near misses, a serious injury and repeated questions over whether he could win one of tennis’s biggest titles. Having finally broken through at Roland Garros, he has now added another major trophy during a season in which he has reached three straight Grand Slam finals.

Zverev said he had maintained belief that a breakthrough was possible despite the doubts that surrounded him. “I believed in it. I believed that it’s possible,” he told reporters in New York, adding with a laugh: “I think not many of you guys did.”

From major near misses to a US Open breakthrough

Zverev’s path to the top level of the men’s game has been marked by both promise and disappointment. He was widely tipped for success from a young age and comes from a tennis family, with both of his parents having played the sport to a high level in the former Soviet Union.

“For me, my family is everything and I owe them a lot for helping me to become the tennis player that I am today,” Zverev has said.

His first Grand Slam final came at the US Open in 2020, when he lost to Dominic Thiem in five sets after taking a two-set lead. Zverev later identified struggles with his serve, particularly his second serve, as a key issue in that defeat.

“That was exactly the time when I had real struggles with my serve and my second serve,” he said. “I knew that my serve could break down at any moment. That’s one difference that I do feel now, luckily for me.”

There were other major setbacks. Zverev lives with diabetes and suffered a career-threatening ankle injury at Roland Garros in 2022, tearing ankle ligaments during his semi-final against Rafael Nadal before undergoing surgery. He returned to competition in January 2023.

His recovery brought further success, including a 20th career title in Hamburg and a strong 2024 campaign in which he reached the French Open final and rose to world number two. However, another Grand Slam final defeat followed at the 2025 Australian Open, where Jannik Sinner won in straight sets.

Zverev had already produced significant achievements before his major breakthrough, most notably winning Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021. He defeated Novak Djokovic before beating Karen Khachanov in the final.

A defining stretch for Zverev

Before the French Open title, the question around Zverev was whether he could convert his evident ability into Grand Slam success. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz had won nine consecutive men’s majors between them, intensifying scrutiny of the German’s record in the sport’s biggest events.

His French Open victory in June ended that wait, and the US Open win over Shelton has quickly turned one major title into two. The result also completes a sequence of three consecutive Grand Slam finals: champion at Roland Garros, runner-up at Wimbledon and champion in New York.

Zverev has framed his progress through the perspective of coping with the changing fortunes of elite sport. “In the life of a professional athlete, you will have the highest highs and the lowest lows,” he said. “Getting caught up in the lows is the biggest mistake that you can make.”

He added: “You shouldn’t try to evaluate everything when times are tough, you should try to find ways to get better when you’re on a high.” With the US Open trophy added to his French Open title, Zverev’s recent results suggest he has found a way to turn years of difficult moments into a defining Grand Slam run.