Sunday 7 June, Court Philippe-Chatrier: Alexander Zverev beats Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 to win Roland Garros 2026. It is his first Grand Slam title, after three lost finals. And it arrived in the most unlikely way for men's tennis in recent years: with neither Sinner nor Alcaraz on the other side of the net.
Since Novak Djokovic stopped winning Slams regularly, men's tennis had narrowed down to almost a two-man duel. Sinner and Alcaraz had split the last several Majors between them. In Paris, for the first time since 2023, somebody else won.
Zverev, the end of a wait spanning three finals
Zverev was no outsider — he has been world number 1, and had already played four Grand Slam finals before this one. He had lost the first three. In Paris, against an opponent the home crowd backed with everything it had, he closed the account: his first career Slam title and, according to the official Roland-Garros report, the first German to win a men's Slam since Boris Becker in 1996. Thirty years of waiting for Germany, condensed into five sets.
Cobolli, the surprise Italy wasn't expecting
On the other side of the net was a 24-year-old from Rome who, two weeks earlier, had never played a Grand Slam final. Flavio Cobolli reached the final by beating Félix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals, then advancing on paper: his compatriot Matteo Arnaldi, his semifinal opponent, was forced to withdraw due to illness before the match was even played.
It doesn't matter how he got there — what matters is that Cobolli is only the third Italian man in the Open Era to play a Roland Garros final, after Adriano Panatta in 1976 and Sinner himself in 2025. He won a set in the final, took it to a fifth, then folded 6-1 in the last set against a physically fresher opponent. He lost, but Italian tennis — which until a few years ago waited a decade between good Slam results — now collects them one after another.
Why clay produces different winners
It is no coincidence that the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly cracked precisely on clay. It is the slowest and most physical of the three surfaces: the high bounce dampens the serve's power, rallies stretch out, and whoever holds up better on their legs in the third hour of a match often counts more than raw talent. Zverev, with his imposing build and a game built on a heavy baseline forehand, is arguably the exact profile clay rewards more than any other surface.
It is also, not by chance, the surface most amateur clubs in Europe play on. When you watch five hours of long rallies in Paris, you are watching — magnified — the same logic as the court behind your house: whoever has more patience, and more legs, ends up winning the point.
If Roland Garros made you want to try clay — or get back to it after a break — on PlaySportMateyou find someone at your level near you, no need to be at Cobolli's level to step on court.
And if you'd rather read what happened a month later, on grass, Sinner put things back in order by winning Wimbledon for the second year running — or find out why Wimbledon's grass is tennis's rarest surface, the exact opposite of Parisian clay.
Frequently asked questions
Who won Roland Garros 2026?
Alexander Zverev, who beat Italy's Flavio Cobolli in the final on 7 June 2026, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1. It is the German's first Grand Slam title.
Is this Zverev's first Slam title?
Yes. Zverev had lost his first three Grand Slam finals before this win in Paris. With this title he also becomes the first German to win a men's Slam since Boris Becker in 1996.
How far did Flavio Cobolli go, and is it a record for Italy?
Cobolli reached his first Grand Slam final, becoming only the third Italian man in the Open Era to play a Roland Garros final, after Adriano Panatta in 1976 and Jannik Sinner in 2025. He lost in five sets.
Why does clay produce different results from grass and hard court?
Because it is the slowest and most physically demanding surface: the high bounce cuts into the serve's advantage and stretches out rallies, rewarding whoever holds up better physically in long matches. It is also why upsets happen more often on clay than at other events on the calendar.