Novak Djokovic’s wife Jelena laid bare how moved she was by Alexander Zverev’s tribute to his mother after his men’s singles title triumph at the 2026 US Open. Zverev defeated home favorite Ben Shelton in four sets on Sunday, September 13, to win his second Grand Slam title as the top seeded German exorcised the demons of his heartbreaking final loss at the 2020 edition of the New York major.
Following his victory, Zverev paid a glowing tribute to his mother Irina, a former tennis player, for being one of his greatest pillars of support, especially in his pursuit of a career in the sport despite being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child. The German said:
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“When your 4-year-old son is 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 strong mother to say ‘my son will be whatever he wants to be. 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.'” (from 3:02)
He soon added:
“My mother is the most important and strongest person I know because it takes an unbelievably strong woman to do what she did.”
Subsequently, Novak Djokovic’s wife Jelena congratulated Alexander Zverev on Instagram. In her comment, she also mentioned how she felt about Zverev’s tribute to his mother, writing:
“Congratulations Sasha!!! 🤗🤗🤗🎉🎉🎉 and such a beautiful tribute to your mom ❤️”
“2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before” – Alexander Zverev delivers resounding verdict after incredible season at majors
At the start of the year, Alexander Zverev‘s Australian Open campaign ended with a narrow semifinal loss to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. Next, at Roland Garros, Zverev broke his Grand Slam duck for the first time. The German’s fine form at 2026’s majors continued at Wimbledon, where he finished as the runner-up to Jannik Sinner despite having limited grass-court success in the past.
After clinching the US Open crown, Zverev reflected on his memorable major campaigns this season, saying:
“We went almost 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title and now we’ve won two in a span of three months. I think God has seen how hard we’ve worked, how much we’ve suffered, how much pain we went through and I think that 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before.”
The 29-year-old will now take a brief break before returning to action for this year’s Laver Cup in London to represent Team Europe.
Edited by Sudipto Pati