At Tokyo 2020, Alexander Zverev became the first man to win Olympic men's singles tennis gold for Germany.

Born in Hamburg in 1997 to Russian parents, both of whom also played tennis, Zverev first picked up the sport as a toddler aged three as was trained by his mother Irina, while father Alexander Sr. coached Zverev's older brother Mikhail, who is also an ATP Tour professional.

As a junior, Zverev reached the top of the world rankings, and won the boys' singles tournament at the Australian Open in 2014. That same year, he won an ATP Challenger Tour event and reached the semi-finals of the ATP Tour International German Open, the start of a rapid climb up the ranks.

By the end of 2016, Zverev had upset Marin Cilic and Roger Federer – his idol – as well as won his first career ATP title and cracked the top 20 in the rankings. That continued into 2017, a year which saw him win two Masters titles and reach world number three, to date his highest ranking.

The German went on to win the ATP Tour Finals in 2018, and despite an average 2019 stayed in the world top 10 entering 2020. In that pandemic-affected season, he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January before reaching the final of the US Open, which he lost to Dominic Thiem. His major exploits continued in 2021, with a French Open semi-final appearance.