"Now it's less": Alexander Zverev admits chances of him becoming world number one diminishing after recent horrid run

Germany’s Alexander Zverev has admitted that chances of his becoming the world number one is diminishing as he is ‘playing terribly’. The 27-year-old is often regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category but has not been able to translate his performances into Grand Slam titles.

Earlier this year, Zverev suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the final of the Australian Open 2025 to reigning world number one Italy’s Jannik Sinner in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. It was the third consecutive occasion where the German tennis star faltered at the last hurdle in a Grand Slam. In 2020, he lost to Dominic Thiem in a five-set thriller in the final of the US Open with a score of 2–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6. Just last year, the German tennis star suffered a defeat to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the French Open in another five-setter with a score of 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2.

Despite that, Zverev had a golden opportunity to become the world number one, especially after the news broke that Sinner had been handed a three-month ban after failing two dope tests in March last year. However, things did not go as planned as the reigning world number two suffered early exits at the Argentina Open, Rio Open, Mexican Open and the Indian Wells Masters most recently. The Hamburg-born star has been quoted in a report by ATP where he admitted that chances of him becoming the world number one is diminishing. He also stated that his biggest concern right now is that he is ‘playing terribly’.

“It was [a real possibility of becoming world number one] in the beginning,” he said. “Now it's less, because I'm just playing terribly. So for me, I have to find my game before thinking about that, because to become World No. 1, you have to win tournaments. I'm not getting past the first, second round at the moment. So I need to figure that out first. At the end of the day I'm just not playing good tennis at the moment. It's as simple as that. I'm not playing a level that I want to play, definitely not playing anywhere near what I played in Australia. I'm just disappointed with my game. That's No. 1 thing for me.”