Alexander Zverev says he has been “annoyed” by the reaction to him becoming world number one, claiming he is the only tennis player who “has to explain why it’s OK” for him to be top of the rankings.
The German, 29, lost to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti at the Paris Masters on Wednesday. It was his first match since becoming the ATP Tour’s number one for the first time.
Questions over his ranking
Zverev said the scrutiny had been difficult to accept. “I don’t think anybody had to explain themselves as much as I had to do in the last couple of days, which for me, is annoying, to be honest,” he said.
He added: “I was a bit annoyed, to be honest, because achieving the world number one status is something that every player dreams of. But then I feel like I’m the only world number in tennis history that has to explain why it’s OK for me to be world number one, which I find quite difficult, because I think I deserve to be where I am, even though I lost today.”
Zverev did not specify which issues had annoyed him. His rise to the top has also led to previous accusations of physical abuse by two of his former partners being highlighted again. Zverev has always firmly maintained his innocence and has insisted the allegations are baseless.
A year of change at the top
Zverev has won his first two Grand Slam titles in 2026, but his success has come in a season in which Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have struggled with injuries. Before this year’s French Open, Sinner and Alcaraz had shared the past nine Grand Slam titles, with Sinner beating Zverev in last year’s Australian Open final.
Zverev has a 62-8 win-loss record against opponents ranked 11 and below this year, but he has won only three of 12 matches against top-10 players. He has lost each of his 10 most recent meetings with Sinner, who has not played since Wimbledon after injuring his knee and has since dropped to number two in the rankings. Zverev has also lost four of his past five matches against Alcaraz, who missed large parts of the season with a wrist injury.
Defeat in Paris
Zverev was presented with the world number one trophy in Paris on Monday. After receiving a bye through the first round, he was beaten 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 by Musetti.
Assessing his performance, Zverev said: “To simplify it, he played really good and I played really bad. I think this was not a very good match from me, I think it might be one of the worst in the last couple of months.”