PARIS/WASHINGTON, June 8, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Before Alexander Zverev won his first Grand Slam title by capturing the French Open crown over Flavio Cobolli Sunday evening in Paris, he had won the Nitto ATP Finals twice, garnered seven ATP Masters 1000 titles and been crowned an Olympic gold medalist.
However, it took winning his first major at Roland-Garros – his 25th ATP Tour title overall – to feel a sense of validation. After all, while the French Open had been a curse to him in the past – losing to an inspired Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 final, as well as losing two other major finals – it had always been his dream to be able to lift a champion’s trophy high in sky and know that it would be an achievement he will forever be remembered by.
Now, Zverev’s Grand Slam wait is over. He no longer will be considered to be the best male player ever to not win a major.
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The 29-year-old native of Hamburg, Germany admitted he could hardly believe it when, at 7:44 p.m. Paris time on what had been a pleasant day, he secured game, set, match and championship against the 24-year-old Cobolli from Italy, winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1, in four hours and 16 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier before a sold-out crowd of 15,225. Upon achieving his greatest triumph, Zverev collapsed onto the red clay. His body was filled full of emotion. He was cheered on by the Paris fans, who gave him a standing ovation.
“First of all, I didn’t believe that I won,” Zverev said later, during his champion’s news conference. “Then I saw my box, and they all were celebrating. That’s when I realized that I’ve won. Especially seeing my father raise up his arms, that was when it kind of hit me, ‘Okay, I won.’
“Then when I was on the ground, all the emotions came out because this court is very, very special to me, in a positive and a negative way. I had some of the toughest moments of my tennis career here. I was lying on this court with an injury that I didn’t know if I would ever come back from. I lost a Grand Slam final here. All of those memories for me, they’re not wiped out. They’re still with me, but this one will beat all of them.”
A day to remember for Alexander ✨#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/HiMyYi1DdL
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2026
Soon, there were many well-wishers who congratulated Zverev via social media Sunday night. Among them were: Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, German footballer Thomas Muller, F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg and tennis Hall of Famers Rod Laver and Billie Jean King.
“Congratulations @alexzverev123 on winning @rolandgarros! 🏆,” Nadal wrote on his Instagram Story. “So well deserved after all the hard work and perseverance. You have been chasing your first Grand Slam for a long time, and you absolutely deserve it.”
Alcaraz wrote on his Instagram Story: “Congratulations Sascha for the title! 🏆 You deserve it @alexzverev123.”
“Congratulations to @AlexZverev on his very first Grand Slam Singles title!” King wrote on X. “His is also the first man with Type 1 Diabetes to win a major. What a victory for everyone living with this disease.”
Roland Garros finishes with a great final between two players who gave everything out there. Well done Alexander Zverev, a deserving champion. Flavio Cobolli showed real fight throughout the match and will surely have his moment soon enough. Good luck to both on the grass! 🚀
— Rod Laver (@rodlaver) June 7, 2026
In his post-match news conference, the fallen Cobolli gave props to Zverev. He said: “I want to say congrats to Sascha for this title. I think he deserve it. I also think today he deserve it more than me at the end of the match. … Sascha is here since ten years, and he made a lot of great result. I think he deserve a Grand Slam for what he did in his career.”
🧡🧡#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/knY6IKRVCk
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2026
Zverev, who is now one of seven active men’s Grand Slam champions on the ATP Tour, made a point, both during the trophy ceremony and in his news conference, to give credit to his team for their support. It includes: his father, Alexander Zverev Sr., who is his coach, and his older brother, former pro Mischa Zverev. Through good times and bad, they have always stuck by his side.
“I think in my scenario it’s really a family effort and a team effort, because I’ve had the same team for 12 years, at least, with the same physical trainer, coaches even longer,” he said. “I think everybody deserves this trophy equally.”
En route to winning this year’s French Open crown, the World No. 3 Zverev defeated Benjamin Bonzi of France, Tomas Machac of Czechia, Quentin Halys of France, qualifier Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands, No. 27 seed Rafael Jodar of Spain, No. 26 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia and Cobolli. Halys and Mensik pushed him to four sets in the third round and semifinals, respectively, while three of the earlier wins came in straight sets. Only the final against the World No. 14 Cobolli required going the five-set distance to secure victory.
📸✨#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/cZWxKltAZm
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2026
As his champion’s news conference wound down, Zverev reflected on what it meant to finally be a Grand Slam champion – the seventh-oldest first-time major titlist. He’s the first German man to win a major since Boris Becker in 1996 and also first German men’s singles champion at Roland-Garros since Henner Henkel won the French Championships in 1937. He said:
“Now no matter what happens, I will always be a Grand Slam champion, and nobody can take that away from me. Maybe, yeah, that does give me some freedom. It does give me some – maybe my mind will just be a little bit calmer when I play a final, meaning that even if I lose it, I will still be a Grand Slam champion.
“I think, yeah, this trophy for me is very important, because if I would have lost this one, the self-belief would have gone down a lot. But now that I’ve won it, I feel like I can do it again.”
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