US Open 2026 winner Alexander Zverev reveals being diagnosed with diabetes at age of 4
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US Open 2026 winner Alexander Zverev reveals being diagnosed with diabetes at age of 4")
US Open 2026 winner Alexander Zverev reveals being diagnosed with diabetes at age of 4 Photograph: (X/US Open)
No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton to win the 2026 US Open, earning his second Grand Slam title in three months. Afterward, he emotionally credited his mother for supporting his career.
Alexander Zverev is the new US Open champion – his second Grand Slam title in the space of three months after winning the French Open at Roland Garros earlier this year. The German, who was seeded No. 1 for the tournament, beat local boy Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday (Sep 13) at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the title. He was very emotional after the win and even revealed how his mother defied all odds to ensure he got to be what he is today.
Zverev reveals being diagnosed with diabetes at age 4
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Zverev credited his mother for his success and said: "When your 4-year-old son gets diagnosed with diabetes and doctors in the office tell you that life and sports will be very limited for that child, it takes a very, very strong mother to walk out of those offices and say ‘My son will be whatever he wants to be.’ If he wants to be a tennis player, he’ll be a tennis player. If he wants to do something else, he’ll do something else. But this illness will not define us. And I’m happy that we worked through it, and that we’re doing the things that we’re doing right now."
Zverev first German male player to win a US Open title since 1989
"We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title, and now we have won two in the span of three months," the 29-year-old added. "I think God has seen how hard we worked, how much we suffered, how much pain we went through, and I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before."
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Boris Becker was the last German man to win a Grand Slam – the Australian Open back in 1996. He leads the list of German players in the men's category with six Grand Slam titles: three Wimbledons (1985, 1986, and 1989), two Australian Opens (1991, 1996), and one US Open (1989).
Apart from Becker, Gottfried von Cramm won two French Open titles (1934 and 1936), Henner Henkel won at Roland Garros in 1937, and Michael Stich won Wimbledon in 1991.
