Alexander Zverev (No. 2, Germany) advanced to the men's singles semifinals at the 2026 French Open (total prize money 61.723 million euros), moving a step closer to his first major crown.
On the 10th day of the tournament held at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France on the 2nd (local time), Zverev defeated Rafael Khodar (No. 29, Spain) 3-0 (7-6, 6-1, 6-3) in the men's singles quarterfinals.
Zverev, the 2024 runner-up at this tournament, holds the highest world ranking among the men's singles semifinalists. Having finished runner-up at major tournaments three times, he has dropped only one set on his way to the semifinals this year, maintaining stable performance. In particular, with title favorites such as Jannik Sinner (No. 1, Italy) and Novak Djokovic (No. 4, Serbia) eliminated early in this year's tournament, he has been handed a prime opportunity to claim the crown.
Excluding last year (quarterfinals), Zverev has reached the French Open semifinals five times in the past six years. In a post-match interview, he said he was not satisfied with simply reaching the semifinals. "I want to keep going and win the remaining matches. That is my goal," he said. "I played a very tough match against a very good player."
Zverev's semifinal opponent will be Jakub Mensik (No. 27, Czech Republic). The 20-year-old Mensik defeated 19-year-old Joao Fonseca (No. 30, Brazil) 3-0 (6-4, 6-3, 7-6) to reach his first major semifinal. Fonseca, the 19-year-old who created a stir at this tournament by consecutively beating Djokovic and Casper Ruud (No. 16, Norway), failed to overcome Mensik.
In the women's singles, Marta Kostyuk (No. 15, Ukraine) reached her first career major semifinal. Kostyuk defeated Elina Svitolina (No. 7, Ukraine) 2-1 (6-3, 2-6, 6-2) in the women's singles quarterfinals. It marked the first time since the start of the Open Era in 1968 that two Ukrainian players faced each other in a major women's singles quarterfinal.
