Zverev Clinches Year-End No 1 After Alcaraz Crashes Out in Shanghai

Zizou Bergs' upset of Carlos Alcaraz has settled the year-end No 1 race. Alexander Zverev finishes on top for the first time.

The world No 39 just decided the biggest individual prize in men's tennis. Zizou Bergs beat Carlos Alcaraz 7-5 7-6 in the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Monday, and with Jannik Sinner already done for the year, that result locked in Alexander Zverev as the 2026 year-end world No 1.

• Tournament: Shanghai Masters (ATP Masters 1000)
• Result: Zizou Bergs def. Carlos Alcaraz 7-5 7-6 (third round)
• Tournament Ends: Sunday, 18 October 2026
• Year-End No 1: Alexander Zverev (first time)

How Zizou Bergs Knocked Out Alcaraz

Alcaraz arrived in Shanghai in form. He had just defended his Tokyo title, becoming the first man to win it back-to-back since Pete Sampras in 1993-94, and he was chasing a ninth Masters 1000 crown.

Bergs didn't care. The unseeded Belgian out-hit the second seed with 24 winners to 16, and he survived a wobble when he was broken serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, taking the tiebreak 7-4.

It was the biggest win of his career, and he said afterwards he had shown top players too much respect in the past. He looked anything but respectful here.

For Alcaraz, it caps an injury-disrupted year, even with the Australian Open title he won in January. A wrist injury kept him out from April's Barcelona Open until the US Open in late August, and he is still searching for his first Masters 1000 title of the season.

Zverev's Long Wait Is Over

Zverev has been knocking on this door for a decade, and 2026 is the year it finally opened. He won his first major at Roland Garros, beating Flavio Cobolli in five sets, then added the US Open to become only the fourth man in the Open Era to win his second major in the same year as his first.

He also reached the Wimbledon final and the Australian Open semi-finals, giving him a 25-2 record at the majors this year. That consistency is what got him here.

The milestones stack up. Zverev is the first German to finish a season as world No 1, something even Boris Becker never managed, and he is the oldest player to earn the honour for the first time.

He joins Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner as the only active players to have done it. For a closer look at the two rivals he has now joined at the top, our Alcaraz vs Sinner breakdown is well worth a read.

Sinner still holds the No 1 ranking for now, but he has ended his season early with a knee problem. The ATP says the earliest Zverev can officially move to the top is 2 November.

Shanghai Masters Is Now Wide Open

With Alcaraz and Sinner out of the picture and Djokovic beaten in the second round, the Shanghai draw has lost its biggest names. Zverev is still alive in the round of 16 and chasing his eighth Masters 1000 title, and he is the man to beat now.

There is no shortage of danger, though. Daniil Medvedev, the 2019 champion, meets Stefanos Tsitsipas, who knocked out Taylor Fritz. Bergs faces Tommy Paul next, after the American dumped out defending champion Valentin Vacherot.

Our read: Zverev is playing with house money after Monday's news, and he has every reason to finish the job in Shanghai before the ATP Finals in Turin. Bergs is the roughie who has already proven he can handle the big moment.

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