The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion claimed his maiden major at the French Open earlier this year, while Shelton couldn’t snap a 23-year drought for U.S. men.
Alexander Zverev started 2026 with zero Grand Slam trophies to his name.
He’ll end it with two.
The German world No. 2 claimed the men’s singles title at the 2026 US Open on Sunday (13 September) in Queens, New York, surviving home hope Ben Shelton in four sets, 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in three hours and 33 minutes.
The Olympic tennis gold medallist from Tokyo 2020 in 2021, Zverev, 29, won his 26th career title, having captured his maiden major at the French Open in June.
It marked redemption for Zverev six years after he gave up a two-sets-to-love lead in the 2020 US Open final, falling to Dominic Thiem in five sets.
“We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title, and now we’ve won two in the span of three months,” a smiling Zverev said during the trophy presentation.
“2026 is the outcome of all the years that came before.”
The 23-year-old Shelton was aiming to snap a 23-year drought for American men at the majors: Andy Roddick is the last U.S. man to win a Grand Slam singles title, hoisting the US Open trophy in 2003.
The Florida native beat seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz in a dramatic five-set quarter-final earlier in the week, their 3:33am finish the latest in tournament history.
Shelton followed that up with a four-set triumph in the semi-final over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, making him the first Black American man into a US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
Zverev was 5-0 head-to-head with Shelton coming into Sunday, winning 10 of 11 sets played. He was broken just once all day – at the end of the third set – and broke Shelton four times, including twice in the fourth set.
Zverev served out the title ultra-focused: As Shelton hit a return long of the baseline on championship point, Zverev didn’t realise he had captured the trophy. When he did, he raised him arms aloft, shouting up to the sky in jubilation.
“You’re one of the best players in the world… maybe the best in 2026,” Shelton told Zverev a few minutes later about his stand-out year.
The two embraced at the net, with Shelton’s first career Grand Slam final ending like Zverev’s did: In a loss at the US Open.
Alexander Zverev: Adds US Open title to French Open win in 2026
It wasn’t an easy pathway to the final for Zverev, who was the No. 1 seed at the event in the absence of Jannik Sinner (knee injury).
He needed five sets to beat both Lorenzo Sonego – who was two points away from beating him – and Quentin Halys in the opening two rounds, playing some 19 hours and 38 minutes across six rounds into the final.
He looked fresh from the start inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, however, breaking Shelton in the opening game of the match and winning the first set 6-3 in 40 minutes.
Set two would prove more complicated, but Zverev jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreak and secured a two-sets-to-love lead akin to his previous appearances in the 2020 final.
Only this time he wouldn’t let a blip in the third set derail him: He broke Shelton immediately to start the fourth, then won the crown going away, claiming five of the final seven games.
Importantly, he never let the New York crowd become too involved, either.
“I know that 99.9 per cent of the crowd wanted Ben to win,” he said after, breaking into a smile. “You guys brought the energy; you brought the noise.”
Shelton, for his part, promised that this was only the beginning for his successes in New York City for years to come: “[The US Open] is my happy place,” he said.
“I’m just getting started and I’ll be back here again.”