US Open–2026: Alexander Zverev became the champion
German tennis player Alexander Zverev defeated American Ben Shelton in the final of the US Open to become the tournament champion. This is the 29-year-old athlete's second Grand Slam title of the current season.
US Open–2026: Alexander Zverev became champion
In the US Open final held in New York, Alexander Zverev defeated Ben Shelton in four sets.
The match, which took place on September 13, ended with a score of 6:3, 7:6 (7:2), 5:7, 6:2 in favor of the German tennis player.
Interestingly, Zverev did not immediately realize that he had won the deciding game. Thinking that the match was still ongoing, he sent the ball to the opponent's side and began preparing to receive the next shot. Only after a few seconds did he realize that he had become the tournament champion and began to celebrate his victory.
The US Open became Zverev's second Grand Slam title of 2026. He had also won the French Open — Roland Garros — in June.
Thus, Zverev recorded a significant result in the history of his country's tennis as one of the first German male tennis players in 30 years to win Grand Slam tournaments in a single season. Among German tennis players, Boris Becker was the last to become a champion before this, at the 1996 Australian Open.
Becker also holds the record for German men's tennis results in Grand Slam tournaments — he reached the final 10 times during his career, winning six of them.
Alexander Zverev is the son of former Soviet tennis players Alexander Zverev and Irina Fateeva. He is the only German tennis player to have reached the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
In 2026, Zverev's record in Grand Slam tournaments was 25 wins and 2 losses.