Does Alexander Zverev really have what it takes to be World No. 1?

Alexander Zverev has had multiple chances to become World No. 1, but he hasn't taken them yet, and many wonder whether he ever will. It’s an interesting question that, at one point in his career, would have been folly.

Zverev grew up on tour alongside his elder brother, Mischa Zverev, who is renowned for his 2017 Australian Open triumph over then-World No. 1 Andy Murray. That allowed him to practice with some of the best players as a teenager and helped him become one of the best talents to emerge in the past twenty years.

Somewhere along the journey, Alexander Zverev started to stumble as his development didn’t quite go as expected. He made it to the 2020 US Open final, leading 2-0 against Dominic Thiem in sets, but then collapsed spectacularly to give the Austrian his only Major trophy.

Years later, Zverev is still searching for that elusive Grand Slam as well as the World No. 1 rank. He made a couple of finals, one of those this year at the Australian Open, but he wasn’t close to winning on any of those occasions.

Even though he led 2-1 against Alcaraz in the Roland Garros final last year, the Spaniard outplayed him in the remainder of the sets to take home the title. Arguably, the closest he was to winning a final was at the same tournament in 2022, when he was forced to retire against Rafael Nadal due to an ankle injury. That was Alexander Zverev at his peak, but alas, fate would see him bow out of the tournament.

He made an incredible comeback, returning to the semifinal stage of the tournament in 2023, but was bested by Casper Ruud. In 2024, he had one of his best seasons, making it to the Australian Open semifinals and coming close to winning Roland Garros again. This was followed by a remarkable run to the final in Melbourne this year.

His serve is one of the best on Tour, and he has started to play more aggressive tennis. So why hasn’t it worked out?

Well, in his own words, because he’s not "good enough". That is how Alexander Zverev explained his Australian Open loss earlier this year.

But that doesn’t mean that he won’t be good enough someday, does it? It depends because he’s since taken back the words he initially spoke. Zverev regretted saying that because it wasn't until later that he realized the weight of those words and the kind of toll it took on him, mentally.

"I was mentally extremely down and so I was very disappointed with the final and how [it] went. Now looking back at it, I regret what I said. I regret saying that after Grand Slam final that I'm maybe not good enough," he noted [via Tennis.com].

His level since then has been pretty lackluster. Even with the absence of Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev still has miles to go before he can claim the World No. 1 position for himself.

What does Alexander Zverev have to do to become World No. 1?

2025 Australian Open - Day 15 - Source: Getty

Given the nature of the sport, predicting anything in tennis is perilous. Still, with everything that Alexander Zverev has displayed so far, it doesn’t seem likely that he will be the World No. 1 anytime soon.

Since his Australian Open run and those infamous comments, Zverev has played seven matches. He won four of those but also had three losses. The three losses were against World No. 26 Francisco Cerundolo, World No. 67 Francisco Comesana, and World No. 83 Learner Tien, all of whom were ranked significantly below him.

Needless to say, none of those players were really Grand Slam favourites. While they might be solid contenders in their own defense, they’re not really players that fans or players would expect to tip Alexander Zverev over.

Zverev has a decent chance of becoming the World No. 1 now that Jannik Sinner is going to be away for three months. With some good results under his belt, he might be able to get it done.

However, Carlos Alcaraz is ahead of the German in the race to the top. Despite a dip in form during this time last year due to an injury, the Spanish ace has generally fared well during the clay season this time around.

Especially after securing his 17th ATP Tour title and his first indoors title at Rotterdam, Alcaraz is tantalisingly close to bridging the gap between him and Zverev. In fact, in terms of rankings, he (7510) is closer to Zverev (8135) than the German is to Sinner (11330).

Alexander Zverev seems to be missing the mental fortitude that will steel him for the high-stakes encounters and enable him to surpass the final hurdle. He has to gain that in order to trump Alcaraz and muster as much as he can in the events that Sinner is set to miss - the four Masters 1000 events at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, and Madrid, as well as the ATP 500 event in Munich in April.

Another decisive reason for him being overlooked as a contender for the elusive spot on the ATP rankings is his lack of any Grand Slam titles. The sooner he starts adding to his trophy cabinet, the sooner he can launch his offense to claim the throne.