Alexander Zverev is the best men's tennis player in the world. The German rose to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday.

The 29-year-old won the French Open in June by beating Flavio Cobolli. He then beat Ben Shelton to win the US Open in September. He also reached the Wimbledon final and the Australian Open semifinals.

For years Zverev was called the best player never to win a Grand Slam. Those two titles ended that talk.

Worth the wait

"I had to wait," Zverev said. "But sometimes you've got to wait for the best things in life. I'm super happy, super thrilled."

He first reached No. 2 more than four years ago. He is guaranteed to finish this season at No. 1 and has a 65-17 record this year.

Making history

Zverev is the 30th man to hold the top spot. He is the oldest player in more than 50 years to get there for the first time. Only John Newcombe, who was 30 in 1974, was older.

He is also just the second German man to reach No. 1 after Boris Becker. Zverev has been living with Type 1 diabetes since he was 4.

Jannik Sinner, who had been No. 1 since April, dropped to second. Sinner ended his season three weeks ago with inflammation in his right knee. Carlos Alcaraz is third.

Spain's Rafael Jodar, 20, also made history. He climbed to No. 10 just 287 days after his tour debut, the fastest rise to the top 10 on record.

Zverev's rise comes after two former girlfriends accused him of abuse. One case was resolved through an agreement in Germany. The ATP investigated the other and found insufficient evidence in 2023.

Zverev plays his first event as No. 1 at the Paris Masters this week.