Alexander Zverev’s ATP Finals campaign ended in disappointment as he crashed out of the tournament in the group stage.
Zverev picked up a win against Ben Shelton, but back-to-back losses to Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime ensured the German’s exit from the ATP Finals.
The star has kept hold of his world number three status throughout the year, but his form has been far from perfect in 2025.
The German has been warned that he could be set for a huge tumble down the rankings in the 2026 season.
Alexander Zverev told he could fall down the ATP rankings
Zverev started the 2025 season impressively by reaching the Australian Open final, but he’s been told that could be his downfall next season.
Matt Roberts, on The Tennis Podcast, said: “I think he’s going to be in for a bit of a shock next year if he doesn’t come close to defending those Australian Open points that are really kind of bolstering his ranking right now.
“He’s got, what, over a thousand points on his ranking, is that Australian Open final. And take those away and he’s in with the pack, you know, he is in with the pack who are a long way behind Alcaraz and Sinner, and that’s the way I see it right now.”
Roberts also suggested that Zverev’s current ranking is not a true reflection of how close he is to Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner and it’s actually bigger than it was at the start of 2025.
“You know, there’s that stat doing the rounds, isn’t there, that Zverev is closer in points to the world number 1000 than he is to the world number two, and he’s the world number three and it’s really demonstrative of the gap between them.
“But I do think that gap has increased over the year, you know, like, start of the season, he obviously reached that Australian Open final, he got absolutely taken apart in it, and it felt then like the gap was big, the gap feels bigger now, I would say, and Zverev feels much more in a group with the likes of Auger-Aliassime and de Minaur and Musetti and you know, a couple of other players who are maybe injured, like a Jack Draper.
Roberts believes several players could surpass Zverev in 2026 and it’s very unlikely he’ll keep hold of his position.
“He’s in in that category and going down, I would say, whereas a lot of those are on the way up looking to pass Zverev, and all of the same things we’ve always thought about his game have been evident this year to an even starker degree, I would say, you know; not bold in the big moments, not taking on the forehand and being outplayed by a lot of players and I know he’s talked a lot about having some injuries this season and how that he feels has sort of impeded him this season.
“And maybe that is the case, but I do think the general trend for him has been just sort of down for a little while now, and I don’t really see many attempts to course correct, you know.
“If I think back a year ago, he was talking in the right way in terms of, I need to try and be more aggressive against the big players, but he’s never put it into action and we’ve had a lot of data now and evidence to suggest that he’s not really going to, and, you know, in the right conditions, when his serve is working, he remains very tough to beat and I think, you know, that will probably always be the case, but those things don’t often come together, and he’s not really been a massive, massive threat from much of this season, I would say.”
Zverev has finished the season as the world number three in the past two years, but his days could be numbered.
Alexander Zverev earns unwanted record after ATP Finals loss
Zverev’s loss to Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Finals was his 11th loss to a top 10 player across the 2025 season.
The German has become just the third top three player to lose more than 10 times to his fellow top players in a season, according to OptaAce.
Zverev joins Jimmy Connors in 1984 and Stefan Edberg in 1992 as players who have lost into the double figures against top 10 players in a season.
It’s another disappointing record for the German to cap off an increasingly disappointing run of results in 2025.
