Zverev loses to Musetti at Paris Masters in first match as world No 1

Alexander Zverev lost his first match as world number one, going down to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti at the Paris Masters on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, and then said he was "annoyed" at being the only top-ranked player who has had to justify his place, the BBC reported.

"I feel like I'm the only world number one in tennis history that has to explain why it's OK for me to be world number one, which I find quite difficult, because I think I deserve to be where I am, even though I lost today," the 29-year-old German said.

How Zverev reached No 1

• He won his first two Grand Slam titles this year: the French Open and the US Open, and lost the Wimbledon final to Jannik Sinner.
• Sinner has not played since Wimbledon because of a knee injury and has dropped to No 2.
• Carlos Alcaraz missed large parts of the season with a wrist injury.

Why the questions

The numbers behind the debate, from the BBC:

• 62-8 win-loss this year against players ranked 11th and below.
• Only 3 wins in 12 matches against top-10 players.
• 10 straight defeats to Sinner, and four losses in his last five matches against Alcaraz.

Before this year's French Open, Sinner and Alcaraz had shared nine Grand Slam titles in a row.

What is next

The Paris Masters is the last Masters 1000 event of the season, and the ATP Finals in Turin follow later in November, where the year-end No 1 is usually settled. Zverev's early exit in Paris gives the chasing pack a chance to close the points gap before Turin. Dawn reported that Novak Djokovic also lost in Paris, while Alcaraz advanced.

Matches at the Paris Masters start in the afternoon and evening in Paris, which is 4 hours behind Pakistan: a 2pm match in Paris starts at 6pm PKT.

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