SHANGHAI (AP) — Alexander Zverev clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking on Monday to cap a breakout year in which he won his first two Grand Slam titles.
Helped by a season-ending injury to Jannik Sinner, the 29-year-old Zverev will become the oldest player to achieve the year-end honor for the first time, the ATP Tour announced.
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Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates his victory against Cameron Norrie of Britain during their men's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Alexander Zverev, of Germany, returns a ball to Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, during the men's singles quarterfinals match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Alexander Zverev, of Germany, reacts during the men's singles quarterfinals match against Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Alexander Zverev, of Germany, returns a ball to Shang Juncheng, of China, during the second round of the men's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Alexander Zverev, of Germany, returns a ball to Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, during the men's singles quarterfinals match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Zverev is currently No. 2 but will overtake No. 1 Sinner before the season ends next month. The first possible date that Zverev could become No. 1 is Nov. 2 — while he is mathematically certain of the top spot by the season's final rankings on Nov. 23.
Zverev became assured of finishing No. 1 when No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz was beaten by Zizou Bergs at the Shanghai Masters.
Zverev won the French Open and U.S. Open titles this year and also reached the Australian Open semifinals and the Wimbledon final.
Before this year, his best Grand Slam results were three finals.
“It’s been a fantastic season for me winning in Paris and New York and knowing that I will finish the year on top of the rankings is just a dream come true,” Zverev said.
“So much work and effort have been put into achieving this goal, especially after coming back from the ankle injury,” Zverev added, referring to when he severely twisted his right ankle during a 2022 French Open semifinal against Rafael Nadal and was pushed away in a wheelchair.
Zverev is next due to play Alexander Bublik in Shanghai on Tuesday.
Sinner, who hasn’t played since beating Zverev in the Wimbledon final in July, announced last week that he is sitting out the rest of the season due to inflammation in his right knee.
In 2024, Zverev finished as year-end No. 2 for the first time.
Zverev's ascension to the top ranking comes after two of his ex-girlfriends accused him of physical abuse.
One case was resolved following an agreement between German prosecutors, lawyers for Zverev and his former partner. The ATP Tour investigated another case and in January 2023 concluded there was insufficient evidence.
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Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates his victory against Cameron Norrie of Britain during their men's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Alexander Zverev, of Germany, returns a ball to Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, during the men's singles quarterfinals match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Alexander Zverev, of Germany, reacts during the men's singles quarterfinals match against Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Alexander Zverev, of Germany, returns a ball to Shang Juncheng, of China, during the second round of the men's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Alexander Zverev, of Germany, returns a ball to Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, during the men's singles quarterfinals match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to the hospital on Tuesday in the late morning, ahead of surgery to remove a lung nodule discovered during recent medical tests.
The Vatican press office said the surgery will require a weeklong recovery in the hospital.
Leo revealed the discovery of the nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and said he was following doctors’ advice to have it removed. The Vatican press office said Monday that no particular issue precipitated the tests, denying Italian media reports suggesting an inflammation had prompted Leo to have the checkup.
On Monday, it was business as usual at the Vatican. The 71-year-old Leo presided over an audience with members of a Rome-based charity, the Circolo San Pietro, and received a donation from them. He spoke in a strong, clear voice, praising their service and sacrifice. The crowd gave him a rousing round of applause afterward.
He had six other private audiences, made three appointments and the Vatican released a letter he had penned to the outgoing dean of the College of Cardinals, thanking him for his service. The letter was signed on Sunday.
In the afternoon, he was expected to continue his audiences and, if time, rejoin a weeklong conference he convened on ministering to families.
The surgery, though, was unexpected and took participants of the family conference by surprise. Leo was supposed to have presided over a Wednesday Mass and the final session in the afternoon, but now will be a no-show.
“Of course, it comes as a surprise to all of us that the Holy Father needs to be hospitalized for a few days for an intervention," said Quebec Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix. "But it will not change what we’re doing.”
The pope's absence, though, has created a change in program, in that the final report summarizing the participants' work will now be delayed.
Leo had summoned the presidents of bishops conferences around the world for a week of discussion about how one of Pope Francis' most important and controversial documents is being implemented.
“The Joy of Love” aimed to help the church better minister to families coping with today's challenges, including poverty and war but also divorce and LGBTQ+ children. It was controversial because Francis opened the door to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics have access to the sacraments.
Leo's surgery marks the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. It was significant because the pope himself revealed the news, in perhaps the most public way possible: at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, with thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
The Vatican has for centuries zealously guarded the pope's health and has often sent out confusing information, or none at all, about papal illnesses. Pope Francis tried to change that by being upfront about his frailties and musing on his eventual death. But even during his pontificate, information was tightly controlled.
Leo's decision and reveal suggested an unusual level of transparency by the American pope.
“I really appreciated yesterday at the end of the Angelus, he himself said, ‘This is what’s going on — very transparent — and ask for prayers,’” Lacroix said.
A lung nodule is a small abnormal area measuring less than 3 centimeters (1 inch) that sometimes appears on a CT scan of the chest or abdomen. Often, the scans are done to investigate trauma or a lung infection, unrelated to a lung cancer screening. A nodule can be benign or malignant, and oftentimes surgical removal is recommended to ascertain whether it is cancerous since performing a lung biopsy by needle can be difficult.
Oncologists say if the nodule turns out to be cancerous, Leo's prognosis is “excellent” since it will have been removed at an early stage.
Unlike his predecessor Pope Francis, whose decade-long respiratory problems made him speak in a whisper, Leo tends to project his voice and frequently sings his prayers.
Barry reported from Milan
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
The statue of late Pope John Paul II is pictured at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
The statue of late Pope John Paul II, center, is pictured at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
People walk past the main entrance of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to be hospitalized in the next days to remove a lung nodule, in Rome, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
