Zverev Triumphs at US Open, Secures Second Major Title of the Year

Defeats 'Dark Horse' Ben Shelton 3-1 in the Final
Captures First US Open Title After French Open Victory
Takes Home a Windfall of KRW 7.37 Billion in Prize Money

World No. 2 Alexander Zverev (Germany) has claimed the US Open title as well.

On September 14, 2026 (Korean time), Zverev defeated 'dark horse' Ben Shelton (ranked 9th, USA) 3-1 (6-3 7-6<7-2> 5-7 6-2) in the final of the 2026 US Open Tennis Championships, held at Flushing Meadows in New York, with total prize money of USD 108 million. Having won his first major title at the French Open in June, Zverev conquers the US Open for the first time and collects his second major championship. He was the runner-up at Wimbledon in July.

With his victory at the US Open, Zverev earned USD 5.5 million (approximately KRW 7.37 billion) in prize money. He continued his upward momentum this year with 25 wins and 2 losses in major tournaments. He also extended his perfect record against Shelton, achieving six wins in six matches.

Alexander Zverev is celebrating after winning the US Open, a major tennis tournament. New York—Reuters Yonhap News

Zverev pressed Shelton with his powerful serves. In the first set, he broke Shelton’s serve twice, earning an easy win. The second set went into a tiebreak, but Zverev took advantage of Shelton’s errors with intelligent play to secure the set. Though Shelton fought back to win the third set, Zverev broke Shelton’s serve again in the fourth set to stand at the top of the US Open.

Zverev stands 198 centimeters tall. He was born in 1997 in Hamburg, Germany to Russian parents. In 2014, he won the Australian Open Junior Boys' Singles and became the No. 1 in the junior world rankings. On the professional stage, he won the ATP Tour Finals in 2018 and achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 2 in 2022. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, he won gold in the men’s singles.

He also endured difficult times. In the 2022 French Open, he suffered an ankle injury—tearing seven ligaments and breaking two bones. After surgery, he returned to the court in January 2023 and demonstrated his dominance by following his French Open triumph with the US Open title.

In his post-victory interview at the US Open, Zverev said, “I am grateful to my family and staff. I am only able to stand here because of the support and help of my parents,” adding, “Thanks also to Shelton for playing so well in the final. I will show even better tennis next year,” he said with a bright smile.

Ben Shelton lies face down on the court after conceding a point to Alexander Zverev in the US Open tennis final. New York - AP Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Shelton, who aimed to become the first American male player in 23 years to win a major singles title, could not overcome the barrier presented by Zverev. He expressed satisfaction with reaching his first major final. The runner-up prize money is USD 2.8 million (approximately KRW 3.75 billion).

During this tournament, Shelton defeated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz (ranked 3rd, Spain) in a grueling four-hour and twenty-eight-minute battle in the quarterfinals. That match, which ended at 3:33 a.m., became the latest-ever conclusion to a match in US Open history, and Shelton drew attention by defeating a top-three player in the world for the first time in his career.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.