After years of near-misses and devastating defeats in major finals, Germany's Alexander Zverev is finally a Grand Slam champion.
On Sunday at Roland Garros, the 29-year-old defeated Italy's Flavio Cobolli in a five-set thriller, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1, to capture the 2026 French Open. It is his first major title, breaking through a door opened by early exits from top seeds Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic.
Zverev had lost three previous Grand Slam finals: the 2020 U.S. Open to Dominic Thiem after leading by two sets, the 2024 French Open to Alcaraz, and the 2025 Australian Open to Sinner. Now, he joins Boris Becker as the only German men to win a major in the Open era.
The victory places Zverev among the elite, but questions remain about his ability to beat the sport's top stars-Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic-in head-to-head championship play. For now, he has what he never had: proof.