Alexander Zverev’s US Open victory speech carried a deeply personal moment that went past the usual trophy talk. Standing on Arthur Ashe Stadium after beating Ben Shelton, the new champion turned his focus
to his mother, Irina and the quiet strength that shaped his life long before any Grand Slam title. At the age of four, Zverev was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Doctors told the family that sports and an active life would likely be limited.
Many parents might have accepted those restrictions but Irina did not. Zverev recalled the scene with clear emotion: “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.’” He continued, “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 things that we’re doing right now.”
Zverev called his mother “the most important and strongest person I know,” adding that it takes an unbelievably strong woman to refuse to let a diagnosis set the boundaries of a child’s future.
For every kid who was told “you can’t.” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/N5pZamAb88
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 13, 2026
Living with type 1 diabetes means constant monitoring of blood sugar, careful management of insulin, and navigating the physical demands of professional tennis. For Zverev, that daily reality never became an excuse and his mother’s refusal to accept limits helped turn a medical challenge into a foundation for resilience. After winning his second major title of 2026, the German used the biggest stage to thank the person who first believed he could stand there at all.
Zverev Wins First US Open Title in Four Sets
Alexander Zverev claimed his first US Open title on Sunday, defeating American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in the men’s final at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The win gave the top-seeded German his second Grand Slam of the year after his French Open triumph in June, and erased the memory of his painful 2020 final loss in New York. Zverev took control early. He broke Shelton in the opening game and again late in the first set to secure it 6-3. The second set remained tight until the tiebreak, where the German produced a near-perfect run of points, winning 7-2 behind powerful serving that reached 147 mph. Shelton, playing in his first major final and urged on by a loud home crowd, finally broke through in the third set. He forced errors from Zverev late and took it 7-5, sending the match into a fourth.
The more experienced Zverev responded immediately. He broke Shelton at the start of the fourth and again later, dropping just four points on his own serve throughout the set. He sealed the title 6-2 with an unreturned serve, so focused that he briefly thought the score was still 5-1 and prepared to return the next point. Only the roar of the crowd told him the match was over. The victory made Zverev the first German man to win the US Open since Boris Becker in 1989 and extended the American men’s Grand Slam drought that has lasted since Andy Roddick’s 2003 title.
