Alexander Zverev finally wins a Grand Slam but his most uncomfortable reputation just got harder to ignore

Alexander Zverev finally has his Grand Slam. The 29-year-old defeated Italy's Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 in a five-set final at Roland Garros on Sunday, collapsing onto the clay and covering his face as the tears came. After years of near-misses, collapses, injuries, brutal draws and uncomfortable questions about whether he had the nerve to finish the job on the sport's biggest stage, Zverev finally broke through. He is now a Grand Slam champion. He is also, still, one of the most complicated figures in men's tennis. No player had notched more Grand Slam match wins before a breakthrough title than Alexander Zverev, who earned his maiden major on his 125th Grand Slam match win. The number tells you everything about the wait.Zverev raced through the opening set 6-1, appearing to be heading for a relatively straightforward afternoon. Cobolli, however, had other ideas. The Italian settled into the match in the second set and matched Zverev shot for shot, repeatedly forcing the German to respond. The pair traded sets before a dramatic fourth-set tiebreak sent the final into a deciding set for the second year in a row. The fifth set brought the match back to where it had started. Cobolli's energy levels began to dip after more than three hours on court, and Zverev regained control, applying pressure on the Italian's serve while keeping calm throughout. In the end, experience and form proved decisive. When Cobolli missed an overhead on the second championship point, Zverev dropped onto his back on the clay and covered his face with his hands as he began sobbing. Two years earlier, on the same court, he had led Carlos Alcaraz by two sets to one before losing in five. Sunday was different. Cobolli, who is a good friend of Zverev's, gave a generous runner-up speech: "Alex, if someone asks me who deserves more this title, I always say you. It's been an honour for our relationship to share the court with you today." Zverev called it a "happy end." He is the first men's Grand Slam champion outside the Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic and Nadal group in years — the first to win a major other than those four since Daniil Medvedev won the 2021 U.S. Open. Winning the Coupe des Mousquetaires does not erase what has surrounded Zverev's career. In June 2024, the same day he beat Casper Ruud to reach the French Open final, he settled a domestic abuse case brought by his ex-girlfriend Brenda Patea at the Tiergarten District Court in Berlin. He paid €200,000, of which €150,000 went to the state treasury and the rest to non-profit organizations. The court was clear: "The decision is not a verdict and it is not a decision about guilt or innocence," court spokesperson Inga Wahlen said at the time. His defense attorneys stated the discontinuation "does not constitute a finding of guilt or an admission of guilt."Zverev had also been separately accused by former girlfriend Olya Sharypova in 2020. He denied those allegations. A 15-month ATP investigation found "insufficient evidence" to substantiate them and he faced no disciplinary action.The ATP Tour did not have a formal domestic violence policy until December 2025, years after North American sports leagues and the Premier League had already built such frameworks. Tennis spent years without clear rules on how to handle these situations, and Zverev played, won titles, and reached finals throughout that entire period.His Grand Slam win now forces those questions into sharper focus. The governing bodies that allowed him to compete without a formal framework in place must now decide how to engage with a first-time major champion whose status within the sport has never been comfortable. Zverev has his title. That changes one thing. It does not change everything.