Berlin [Germany], November 2 (ANI): German tennis star and two-time Grand Slammer Alexander Zverev reflected on reaching the world number one in ATP Rankings for the first time ever, saying that “sometimes one has to wait for the best things in life” and that the feeling of being at the top of the world is amazing.
Zverev, a 26-time ATP-tour titlist, finally has big-stage glory to his name after years of near-misses, setbacks and heartbreaks. The German made it to the world number one spot in the ATP Rankings for the first time following a breakout run, which saw him open his Grand Slam tally with the French Open and the US Open. He also made it to the finals of Wimbledon.
Later, in an essay titled ‘My Point’, posted on ATP’s official website, Zverev wrote on this monumental occasion, “No words can truly describe this year. Two Grand Slam titles, countless memories and today, I woke up as the No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings. It is very special. To be able to feel what it is like being on top of the world is amazing.”
“I have been able to win many important tournaments in my career. But having the No. 1 next to my name is such a special feeling that is impossible to describe,” he added.
The 29-year-old revealed how four years back, he reached world number two for the first time, but “sometimes you’ve got to wait for the best things in life”.
“More than four years ago, I reached World No. 2 for the first time. Sometimes you’ve got to wait for the best things in life. All I can say is I am thankful, especially for those who have helped me along the way,” he said.
Zverev reflected on the role of his father, Alexander Sr, who is also his coach and his brother, Mischa, a tennis player himself in his career. While he pointed out that their role is widely known because of how much they are shown on TV during the matches, the “most important person” behind his tennis career has been his mother and “first coach”, Irina.
“A lot of people talk about my father, Alexander Sr., who is my coach, and my brother, Mischa, who was in the Top 25 in the world. They both have played a very important role in my career, and I think a big reason why so many people know about it is that they are shown more on TV, whether in the box or coaching me on court during practice,” he said.
“But the truth behind it is that the most important person in my life — and for my tennis career — generally has always been my mother, Irina. She is the one who taught me how to play tennis. She was my first coach.”
“When I was born, Mischa was almost 10 years old, and by the time I was old enough to play sports, my father was travelling with him to junior tournaments to help him achieve his dreams. So while everyone supported me, it was mostly my mom and I back home doing everything together. And that is not just related to tennis,” he continued.
Revealing his mother’s highly influential role in his sporting journey, he took the fans back to the time he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a four-year-old, but his mother still believed that he was going to play the sport and achieve his dreams.
“No matter what obstacle was going to be in my way, she was not going to let anything stop me. I do not want to say living with Type 1 diabetes helped me in my tennis career, or in life in general. But it definitely made me grow up a bit quicker than I probably would have done without it,” he added.
Zverev opened up on taking responsibility to medicate himself with injections while at school and taking care of himself through his battle with diabetes as a kid. He also recalled how his mother would keep him away from any conversations talking about how sports would be difficult for him due to his disease.
“I still remember going to school at six years old, when I had to take care of my diabetes myself for multiple hours every day. That is when you start to realise, ‘Okay, you have to inject yourself, you have to measure your sugar when you eat’ and stuff like that. Those were the first moments when I realised I needed to take responsibility for my own health, which most kids don’t need to think about,” he said.
“At that age, I did not know the reason behind what I was doing, just that it was important that I did. I think it is actually more difficult for the parents because it is a shock to walk into a doctor’s office for them to say that their child has diabetes and will have diabetes for the rest of his or her life.”
“The doctors start to tell the parents that different things are not possible for their child and that doing certain activities, like sports, might not be the best life choice. My mom would send me out of the room during those conversations, because she did not want me to hear what was going on,” he continued.
Reflecting on his mother’s unwavering belief in him, Zverev said that his mother did all she could to make her dreams come true and coached him in tennis till the age of 16. It was her strong influence and sense of belief which erased any doubts he had about his future.
The tennis star also opened up on his insecurities about the diseases around his schoolmates and players while being on tour.
“One thing that I believe helped is that I never saw myself as different to anyone else. There were situations in which I was trying to hide my diabetes a little bit because I did not want to inject myself in front of other kids. I was a bit embarrassed by it,” he said.
“I was quite insecure about the illness early on, especially in my early days on Tour. I was trying to hide it. I did not want a lot of players to know. The reality is that I feel like every single player in the world knew already because it was not something that I was capable of hiding. How can I hide it if I am around those people for 40 weeks a year?,” he added.
Zverev also reflected on his ankle injury at the French Open back in 2022 and how time away from the game made him launch the Alexander Zverev Foundation. It was around this time he opened up on his battle with diabetes publicly and aimed to provide kids with proper medicine to help them deal with the disease.
“Everything changed when I hurt my ankle at Roland Garros in 2022. I had a lot of time on my hands and would think about a lot of things. For example, the thought popped in my mind that surely there are kids in the same situation that I was 20 years ago. They have to go through the same things that I went through when I was younger with diabetes,” he recalled.
“And that is what led to me creating the Alexander Zverev Foundation. When we launched it, I went public with my diabetes, and I am really happy that I did. With my foundation, we are capable of helping thousands of kids each year by providing necessary medicine, and just making sure that kids are able to survive. I am privileged to be in a position where I can make a difference, and it is my pleasure to do everything in my power to do so,” he added.
Fast-forwarding the clock to 2026, he spoke on a tough semifinal loss to Carlos Alcaraz in a match that lasted over five hours at the Australian Open and how happy he was with his game despite the loss.
“I was playing to win the tennis match, and I knew that if I continued working on the things that I was doing in that match, I would have my chances in the year, and that is exactly what has happened,” he said.
Reflecting on his first-ever Grand Slam win, which came partially because of Jannik Sinner’s campaign derailed due to injuries, Zverev said that as soon as he won his first-ever Grand Slam, he thought of reaching the world number one.
“I won my first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, which was a huge goal of mine. And as soon as I did that, I started thinking about trying to become World No. 1,” he said.
“It is a weird circumstance because of Jannik’s injury. This is not the way that you want to reach the top of the sport. Ideally, you would become World No. 1 when everybody is healthy and playing at their best. But now I am here: World No. 1,” he added.
Zverev said that being at the top of the world is extremely important for the people dealing with diabetes and his achievement is “not about him”.
“It is great to show everyone out there that they can really achieve their dreams, even with this illness. Yes, with diabetes, you have to grow up faster and take care of yourself a bit better. But everything is possible and you will be able to live a fulfilled life with it. I am proud as a Type 1 diabetic to show that to families dealing with the disease. And if ever there will be another World number one with diabetes, I would be the happiest person in the world,” he signed off. (ANI)
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