For years, Alexander Zverev had almost everything on his résumé except the one thing that truly mattered: a Grand Slam title. In 2026, he killed that criticism twice. The German finally broke through at the French Open before adding the US Open just months later, completely changing the conversation around his career. And for Andy Roddick, there is no debate left. Whatever people think of Zverev and the controversies surrounding him, his tennis résumé now belongs in the Hall of Fame conversation.

“Zverev, two Slams. I don’t know what he has, like seven 1000s or something like that,” he said on The Served Podcast. “Two World Tour Finals, Olympic gold medal, so he’s in, right? I mean, people will always vote because there’s obviously been controversy, which we’re going to keep tennis-centric today. So you can be angry. It’s not like we haven’t acknowledged it before. But he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame. I think that’s it.”

Even before the breakthrough, Zverev already had Olympic gold, 24 tour-level titles and years near the top of the rankings. What kept him below Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the conversation was simple: both had already proved themselves at Grand Slam level.

That gap disappeared in 2026. Zverev reached the Australian Open semifinals before finally breaking through at Roland Garros, where he survived a five-set battle against Flavio Cobolli to claim his first major title.

He then reached his maiden Wimbledon final, losing to Jannik Sinner, before responding by winning the US Open just weeks later. He may not have dominated the regular Tour this season, but two major titles and another Slam final have changed the weight of his résumé completely.

There is no magic number that gets a player into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Two Slams, five Slams, or 30 titles do not guarantee anything. The official standard is a “distinguished record” at the highest level, while integrity, sportsmanship, and character can also be considered. Players must generally be five years removed from being a major factor on Tour before becoming eligible, and once on the ballot, they still need 75% support to get in.

The Hall of Fame can wait, though. Zverev still has one major hole left on his active résumé: he has never been World No. 1. He is even willing to play for another 10 years if that is what it takes to reach the milestone.

“I want to keep playing for another ten years,” he said in an interview with the German publication Bild in June. “I’ve already achieved the Grand Slam goal, and the only thing I’m missing is being number one in the world. Even if it’s just for a week, that would be nice. Although with the competition there is, it will be very difficult.”

And difficult is exactly what the numbers suggest. Despite winning the US Open, Zverev still trails Jannik Sinner in the rankings and will need a huge finish to the season, along with some help from the Italian, to have any chance of taking over the top spot.

Will Alexander Zverev manage to dethrone Jannik Sinner in the rankings in 2026?

The gap is still significant. Zverev sits on 9,690 points, 1,810 behind Jannik Sinner’s 11,500, while Carlos Alcaraz has slipped to 5,560 and is no longer part of the immediate No. 1 race. For now, Zverev is the only player with a realistic shot at putting pressure on Sinner.

But the German does not control the race entirely. Even after stripping away the points both players earned during the 2025 Asian swing, Sinner would still hold a 1,370-point advantage. Last year, the Italian collected 550 points during that stretch, compared with just 150 for Zverev.

That means Zverev needs more than just a strong run in Beijing and Shanghai. He needs Sinner to stumble as well. Unless the Italian suffers a poor Asian swing and Zverev goes deep at both events, the top spot is unlikely to change hands immediately.

The bigger opening could come later. With a maximum haul available at the ATP Finals, Zverev could make up serious ground there and turn the year-end No. 1 race into a much tighter fight.