After years of near misses, Alexander Zverev finally has his Grand Slam trophy. The German star captured the 2026 Roland-Garros men’s singles title on Sunday, defeating Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in a grueling five-set final to claim the first major championship of his career.
Zverev prevailed 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 in a match that lasted more than four hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The victory ended one of the longest-running questions in men’s tennis: whether one of the sport’s most accomplished players could finally break through on the biggest stage.
The 29-year-old arrived in Paris as the tournament’s No. 2 seed and World No. 3. Before this week, he had reached three Grand Slam finals only to come up short, including at Roland-Garros in 2024 and the Australian Open in 2025. Sunday’s triumph came in his fourth major final and second French Open final.
Roland-Garros has long been one of Zverev’s strongest events. He entered this year’s tournament having won 18 of his previous 20 matches in Paris and had reached at least the semifinals in several recent editions. His route to the title included victories over Jakub Mensik and Rafael Jodar before setting up the championship clash with Cobolli.
The result also ends a notable run of champions at Roland-Garros. Carlos Alcaraz won the men’s title in 2025, while Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal dominated much of the previous decade, combining for numerous championships on the Paris clay.
Zverev’s résumé was already among the strongest in the sport before Sunday. He entered the tournament with 24 ATP titles, two ATP Finals championships and an Olympic gold medal from Tokyo. Now, he finally adds a Grand Slam crown to that collection.
The victory carries additional historical weight. Zverev became the first German man to win a major title since Boris Becker captured the Australian Open in 1996, completing a journey that has defined much of his professional career and securing his place among tennis’ Grand Slam champions.