Alexander Zverev won the biggest title of his career on Sunday in Paris, and he is more than happy to lose the other title he’s held for years now. In a gripping five-set final, high on drama, if not always on quality, Zverev overcame both his opponents: flashy Flavio Cobolli of Italy, and, more importantly, nerves and scar tissue to win the first major of his career. He now sheds the label that he himself admits to carrying, and is no longer the best player never to have won a major. In his fourth major final, he broke through, defeating Cobolli 6–1, 4–6, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1, though it did not come easily or simply.
Playing the first top-20 opponent of his 2026 Roland Garros campaign, Zverev started with authoritative tennis, particularly on his backhand side, and looked to be cruising to the title. Cobolli then mounted a comeback, Zverev recovered, and Cobolli served for the fourth set and couldn’t close before winning in a tiebreaker. If you are dizzy from the undulating momentum, so are the fans, though it was undeniably entertaining. In the fifth set, Zverev regained momentum, steadied, and closed out the match, equally relieved and happy.
To his credit, he has always been upfront about the obvious missing item on his résumé, and he has leaned into his status. “All I need is one,” Zverev said in the lead-up to this final, not facetiously. In this tournament, he completely rewrote his tennis career. He has now been to four major finals, won one, claimed his 25th title, has more than 550 match wins and played himself into the Hall of Fame in this tournament. If he did so without facing a murderers’ row of opponents—not only missing Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, but not playing anyone in the top 10—it doesn’t matter. You beat whoever the draw serves up to you, and Zverev did that seven times.
HE DID IT 🏆#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/SFJgCRZon0
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2026
His toughest match of this French Open by far came in the final against Cobolli, a likable, stylistic shotmaker known for highs and lows. Both were evident today, after shaky nerves, Cobolli hung in this match and deserves great credit for that. For all the first-time finalists overwhelmed by the occasion, including in the 2026 French Open women’s final, Cobolli was right in this match. He will be proud of himself for reaching this stage of a major for the first time, but will be disappointed that he couldn’t close out the match when he was within a set of winning.
The strange atmosphere was complicated by the fact that tennis fans know Zverev’s history and the allegations of partner violence that have been lodged against him by two former partners and were never adjudicated for innocence or guilt. (Zverev settled the assault case brought against him out of court.) Fans make up their own minds on how much this impacts their perception of Zverev, but it was clear the crowd was in favor of the underdog. In some precincts, Zverev’s title will be received less enthusiastically than that of other first-time major winners. That’s a personal choice for fans.
As for Zverev, he was elated. He now moves on with his career, having closed out the French Open, and if the debate rages now over who takes over his mantle of the best player never to have won a major, that’s perfectly fine by him.
