“Sascha is gonna take it”: Boris Becker predicts major ATP Ranking change involving Alexander Zverev

Boris Becker predicted that Alexander Zverev will take the world No. 1 spot from Jannik Sinner in the coming months, following the 29-year-old German's triumph in the US Open final, securing his second Grand Slam title of the season and establishing himself as the best-performing player at the year's four majors.

Something few would have predicted months ago, when the dominance of Alcaraz and Sinner was clear following 2025. The Spaniard's injury during the clay-court swing opened up possibilities, and Sinner took control of the Tour, going on a run of five consecutive Masters 1000 finals. Along the way, he defeated Zverev five times this year, including finals at the Madrid Open and Wimbledon, establishing a clear advantage over the German.

However, Zverev managed to ensure that the gap did not become too large. His first Grand Slam title came at the French Open during the European summer, taking advantage of Sinner's early exit from the tournament in a surprise second-round defeat. He then reached the Wimbledon final and, despite losing to Sinner in the final, further established himself as his main challenger.

Sinner's injury at the start of the North American hard-court swing was a major boost for Zverev, who returned to hard courts with a great chance to close the gap. At the Canadian Open and Cincinnati, however, with Sinner absent, Zverev did not add too many points, falling in the second round in Montreal and reaching the round of 16 in Cincinnati. But after the New York swing, the battle for the top of the rankings has been reignited.

Sinner confirmed his absence from the US Open just weeks before the start of the tournament, despite expectations that he would be recovered in time to compete at the fourth Slam of the year. Zverev entered as the top seed and took advantage of a favorable draw, without facing a top-20 player on his way to the final.

There, he faced Ben Shelton, the world No. 9 and home hope, who was playing his first major final. However, Zverev showed his class and experience at this stage, in what was his third consecutive Grand Slam final, and took advantage of his status as favorite to claim his second major title, surpassing Sinner and Alcaraz, who each had one Grand Slam title this season.

With the Grand Slams being the tournaments that distribute the most points during the season, the two major titles within a few months allowed Zverev to take the top spot in the ATP Race, which exclusively considers points earned in 2026. Although he remains No. 2 in the ATP Rankings, he has significantly fewer points to defend than Sinner at the end of the year and already has an advantage in terms of points earned during this season.

A post on social media highlighted the new positions in the ATP Race for the men's players following the US Open. With Sinner absent and therefore unable to add points this week, and the 2,000 points Zverev added, the 29-year-old German moved ahead, giving him the best chance of finishing the year at the top of the rankings.

For Boris Becker, this is a clear indication that Zverev could take the world No. 1 spot from Sinner in the coming months, and he expects Zverev to be the player who finishes the season as ATP Ranking leader at the ATP Finals in Turin in November.

“Think Sascha is gonna take it by the time Turin comes along ….” the six-time Grand Slam champion wrote on social media.

Zverev currently sits on 8,650 points in the ATP Race, 700 points ahead of Sinner (7,950). In the ATP Rankings, Sinner still has an advantage of almost 2,000 points, but as some of his points come into play over the next few weeks, Zverev will have the chance to cut the gap and potentially overtake him if he maintains his strong results.

The battle for world No. 1 will not change in the coming weeks. We are entering the Asian swing, with two events where Zverev and Sinner will compete at the same tournament. They will first play the ATP 500 China Open and then the Shanghai Masters, with 1,500 points up for grabs that could significantly narrow the gap or even give Zverev a chance to challenge for the top spot.

Sinner is defending 500 points in China, although in Shanghai he is defending only 50. Zverev, meanwhile, is defending just 110 points between the two tournaments. Even if the German wins both titles, Sinner would need just 130 points to remain at the top — meaning reaching the quarterfinals in Shanghai, or the semifinals in China, or a combined result with just a couple of wins across the two tournaments. Nothing too difficult for the Italian, and it would be a major surprise to see him eliminated early at both tournaments.

In any case, the challenge of maintaining the top spot will become more complicated in the following weeks. Everything suggests that the differences will be tight heading into the end of the year, when the Vienna Open (ATP 500) and Paris Masters (ATP 1000) will be tournaments where both players are expected to compete. Another 1,500 points will be at stake, and this time Sinner is defending both titles, meaning he will have no opportunity to add points.

Even if Zverev fails to take advantage of the opportunity to reach the top of the rankings this time, the ATP Finals will remain as the final opportunity of the year. Once again, Sinner will be unable to add points there because he was the undefeated champion in 2025. Zverev, meanwhile, managed just one win at the 2025 ATP Finals, meaning he could arrive in Turin with a good opportunity to collect additional points and finally overtake Sinner.

Based on how things currently stand, Becker's prediction makes sense. Even if Sinner's return is dominant and he adds several titles during the final stretch of the season, it may not be enough for him to retain the top spot in the rankings. Zverev would not even need to battle Sinner or Alcaraz for titles to reach No. 1, and could potentially do it simply by advancing through several rounds at the final tournaments of the year and maintaining a certain level of consistency against lower-ranked opponents.

There is still a lot to be decided, and the possible scenarios for the end of the year remain speculative. But one thing is clear: Zverev is in an excellent position to chase another major achievement in what has already been a standout season of his career — finally reaching the top of the ATP rankings.