Alexander Zverev says he is “annoyed” by the reaction to him becoming world number one.
The German, 29, says he is the only tennis player who “has to explain why it’s OK” to top the rankings.
Zverev lost to Italian Lorenzo Musetti at the Paris Masters on Wednesday – his first match since he first became number one on the ATP Tour.
He won his first two Grand Slam titles in 2026, but his success came during a year in which Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner struggled with injuries.
“I don’t think anyone has had to explain themselves as much as I have in the last few days, which for me is boring, to be honest,” Zverev said.
Zverev has a 62-8 win-loss record against opponents ranked 11th and lower in the world this year – but he has won just three of 12 matches against top 10 players.
Before this year’s French Open, Sinner and Alcaraz had shared the last nine Grand Slam titles, with Sinner beating Zverev in the final of last year’s Australian Open.
Zverev has lost in each of his last 10 meetings with Sinner, who has not played since Wimbledon after injuring his knee and subsequently fell to second place in the rankings.
He also lost four of his last five matches against Alcaraz, who missed much of the season with a wrist injury.
“I was a little annoyed, to be honest, because reaching world number one status is something every player dreams of,” said Zverev, who won the French Open and US Open titles this year and lost to Sinner in the Wimbledon final.
“But I feel like I’m the only world number in the history of tennis who can explain why I can be world number one, which I find quite difficult, because I think I deserve to be where I am, even though I lost today.”
Zverev did not specify what problems bothered him after reaching the top of the rankings.
His rise led to new accusations of physical abuse from two of his former partners.
Zverev has always steadfastly maintained his innocence and insisted the allegations are baseless.
He received the world number one trophy in Paris on Monday but, after enjoying a first-round bye, was beaten 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 by Musetti.
Looking at his performance on Wednesday, Zverev said: “To put it simply, he played very well and I played very badly.
“I think it wasn’t a very good match from me, I think it could be one of the worst in recent months.”
Gn sports
