Alexander Zverev never again has to hear anyone refer to him by the dreaded title of "the best player never to win a Grand Slam."
After winning the French Open this past weekend for his first major championship, he might hear a slightly different line of questioning: Is Zverev the best player never to reach No. 1 in the world rankings?
Zverev is one of 13 players to reach No. 2 in the world without getting to No. 1. Is he the best of the bunch? Probably … not. Guillermo Vilas probably has the strongest case.
Who moved up the ATP rankings during the clay-court season?
Vilas somehow never reached No. 1 in the aftermath of his 1977 season, when he won two majors, 16 tournaments in total, and a still-record 130 matches. As for Zverev, you could make a reasonable case that he‘s one of the five best players not to reach the top spot.
He won’t get there anytime soon. Despite his shocking second-round loss at Roland Garros, top-ranked Jannik Sinner continues to hold a commanding lead over No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. Zverev solidified his hold on the No. 3 ranking with his triumph in Paris, but he has a long way to go to reach No. 1.
Flavio Cobolli, Zverev’s opponent in the French Open final, cracked the top 10 for the first time at No. 10.
Rafael Jodar, 19, enjoyed a breakout spring with quarterfinal appearances at the ATP 1000 events at Madrid and Rome, plus a run to the last eight at the French Open. He jumped from No. 89 at the start of the clay-court season to No. 23, the biggest rise within the top 100.
Who moved down?
Lorenzo Musetti tumbled from No. 5 at the start of the clay-court season to No. 16 after injuries knocked him out of the French Open and prevented him from defending the semifinal points he earned at Roland Garros in 2025.
Jack Draper, another talented young player who has been dealt a rough hand with injuries, fell all the way from No. 25 to No. 112.
Who’s about to rise?
All of the young players who enjoyed success during the clay-court season – Jodar, Arthur Fils, Jakub Mensik, and Joao Fonseca in particular – could jump a lot of spots in a short time with strong grass-court seasons.
The second half of the top 10 – spots 4 through 10 to be precise – is closely bunched in ranking points, meaning there could be quite a bit of shuffling from the current order of Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, and Cobolli.
Who could fall?
Karen Khachanov could fall out of the top 20 without a few wins on the lawns. There are also not-impossible scenarios that could result in Zverev passing Alcaraz for No. 2 and Fritz and Djokovic falling out of the top 10.
Two years ago this happened
This week in 2024, Sinner reached No. 1 for the first time. The date will be significant in tennis history for two reasons. Sinner became the first Italian player to achieve the No. 1 ranking. Probably of more significance, Sinner supplanted Djokovic, therefore likely finalizing Djokovic’s record of 428 total weeks at No. 1.
Add us as a preferred source on Google