A Grand Slam title is every tennis player’s dream, but few would turn their nose up at Alexander Zverev’s career earnings.

The German is still yet to land his first major title, having now fallen at the final hurdle on three occasions, most recently losing this way at the Australian Open in January.

Getty

Zverev’s last ATP title came at the Paris Masters in November last year[/caption]

A straight sets defeat to Jannick Sinner in Melbourne came just months after Zverev lost a five-set thriller to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final in May 2024.

Despite missing out on the promised land twice in a short space of time, it hasn’t all been misery for the 27-year-old lately.

The 2024 season was Zverev’s best in terms of earnings, as he took home a staggering $8.99million (£7.12m) in prize money.

Of the eye-watering figure, $1.9m (£1.5m) stemmed from his two titles last year, won at the Rome and Paris Masters, while he pocketed a further $1.25m (£990,525) for his final appearance at Roland-Garros.

Zverev’s impressive takings saw him rank as the tennis player with the third-highest total prize money in 2024.

Only Alcaraz and Sinner earned more during this period, taking home $9.85m (£7.8m) and $16.94m (£13.42) respectively.

What’s more, the world number two has now bagged an astonishing $51,800,906 in prize money throughout his entire career, placing him fifth on the ATP Tour’s all-time list.

Zverev’s hefty total is bettered only by tennis’ legendary ‘Big Four’ of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

And while a Grand Slam is a notable gap on the Hamburg-born star’s CV, he still boasts plenty of impressive achievements in his career.

After making his debut on the professional circuit as a 16-year-old in 2013, Zverev has gone on to win 23 singles titles on the ATP Tour.

Getty

AFP

The German had to beat two of tennis’ finest ever players to claim his first ATP Finals title[/caption]

The first of these came at the St Petersburg Open in 2016, beating three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka in the final.

In 2018, Zverev cemented his reputation as one of tennis’ leading talents when he triumphed in the year-end ATP Finals, recording victories over two all-time greats in the process.

The then 21-year-old defeated 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer in straight sets in the semi-finals, before repeating the feat against Serbian icon Djokovic in the final.

And Zverev has certainly showcased his ability to go toe-to-toe with tennis’ very best on several occasions.

He is one of a handful of players to lead Federer in his head-to-head record, boasting a 4-3 lead over the Swiss legend, who retired in 2022.

Zverev’s final victory against him came at the 2019 Shanghai Masters, a year before he reached his first ever Grand Slam final, which ended in defeat to Daniil Medvedev at the US Open.

Getty

Zverev became the first German to win Olympic gold in tennis at the Tokoyo 2020 Games[/caption]

Arguably the greatest year of the junior Australian Open champion’s career came in 2021, when he claimed Olympic gold at the rescheduled Tokyo Games.

He rounded off a stellar 12-month period which saw him claim six ATP titles with a second ATP Finals’ victory, gaining revenge over Medvedev with a straight sets final win.

Zverev’s upwards trajectory on the court has continued in recent years, reaching a career-high ranking of world number 2 in 2022.

He picked up two ATP titles in 2023, triumphing in Chengdu and on home soil at the Hamburg Open, before adding two more to his collecting with his 2024 victories in Paris and Rome.

But things haven’t always been plain sailing away from the court.

Zverev has twice been accused of domestic abuse, first in 2020 by ex-partner Olga Sharypova, and then in 2023 by Brenda Patea, with whom he has a daughter.

Sharypova did not press charges, and a 15-month investigation by the ATP concluded two years ago with no action taken because of insufficient evidence.

The Patea case did go to court and last June Zverev agreed to pay 200,000 euros (approximately Ł170,000) by way of a settlement. He strenuously denied both sets of claims.