Zverev's moment and Alcaraz's absence jeopardize the world number two

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Alexander Zverev no longer has the ghosts that have been haunting him in recent years. After his first Grand Slam victory at Roland Garros, the German is no longer looking back but ahead, aiming to claim the second spot in the ATP rankings currently held by Carlos Alcaraz, who will miss this grass-court season due to a wrist injury.

The absence of the Spanish player for much of this clay-court swing has allowed the German to go further in Madrid where he reached the final, but more importantly, it provided him with a historic opportunity at Roland Garros, combined with the early exits of Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, which Zverev fully capitalized on.

These are the calculations Alexander Zverev needs to surpass Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP rankings

The physical misfortune will prevent the Murcian from defending a whopping 1,800 points. 500 from his second Queen's title and 1,300 from the runner-up finish at Wimbledon against Jannik Sinner, where he had won the title in two consecutive years (2023 and 2024).

While Zverev not only comes into this grass swing on a roll and freed after his success in Paris, but he does so with an extra 1,600 points. This way, the Hamburger stands at 7,305 points in the ATP rankings, trailing by 2,655 points, as Alcaraz from El Palmar currently holds 9,960 points.

This 2,655-point difference automatically deducts the 1,800 that Alcaraz cannot defend, although Zverev will lose 175 points this week for not defending the Stuttgart final. Thus, the gap reduces to 1,030 points, provided Zverev doesn't play any tournaments. However, the German will compete in the Halle ATP 500 and at Wimbledon, where he only defends 10 points following his first-round defeat last year.

THE WAIT IS OVER 🏆#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/i1PL0lkgAf

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2026

Therefore, for Zverev to surpass Alcaraz in the rankings, he must win in Halle and then reach at least the semifinals in London to move into the second spot behind Jannik Sinner. Another option, if he doesn't succeed in his country, is to make it to the Wimbledon final to overtake the Spaniard.

Should he fail in this grass swing, he would have another excellent opportunity in the North American hard-court swing, where Alcaraz defends 3,000 points (1,000 from the Cincinnati title and 2,000 from his second US Open). However, despite the need to be cautious, the Spanish player will return to action during this swing, potentially mitigating his points loss.

Still, in his initial months back in competition, Carlos Alcaraz not only must defend his titles in Cincinnati and the US Open or shorten the gap in both tennis level and rankings with Jannik Sinner, but now a third factor comes into play, and that is Alexander Zverev.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El momento de Zverev y la ausencia de Alcaraz hacen peligrar el número dos del mundo