World No. 39 Zizou Bergs beat Alcaraz 7-5, 7-6(4) on Monday at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. Alcaraz, world No. 3 and second seed in Shanghai, went out in straight sets to the biggest upset of the tournament so far, triggering another round of noise about his form and his body.

Those critics are not new. Speaking at a Rafa Nadal Foundation event earlier this year, in comments carried by Europa Press, Nadal rejected the idea that Alcaraz still belongs in the “prospect” bracket.

“He’s not a prospect. He has seven Slams, so he’s definitely not just a promise for the future. He’s already a legend.”

“If you look at the historic greats in Slams there aren’t many who have seven. Calling him a prospect makes no sense.”

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Alcaraz, speaking after the Bergs defeat, was less philosophical.

“Today it wasn’t a good match from my side. I didn’t play good. I would say it was a really bad level from me, and it was a really good level from him.”

“Even like that, I think it was a close match. In a few important moments I didn’t play my best.”

Zverev confirmed as year-end No. 1

The exit mathematically confirmed Alexander Zverev as the year-end world No. 1 for the first time. Jannik Sinner had already withdrawn from the tournament with a right knee injury, ending Alcaraz’s last mathematical path to the top spot before the end of 2026.

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Alcaraz keeps his No. 3 ranking with 5,610 points after collecting 50 for his second-round win. World No. 4 Ben Shelton, the only player who could have passed him in Shanghai, also lost in the third round.

Still “far from” his best after four months out

Alcaraz has said he is still working back from a wrist injury that kept him off the tour for four months, and that he remains “still far from” the level that carried him to the Tokyo title. Against Bergs the Spaniard’s serve was broken three times, while the Belgian held comfortably, winning 37 of 47 first-serve points.

Nadal has spent most of his year away from the tour since retiring in November 2024, with the Rafa Nadal Academy Slam exhibition earlier this month marking his first on-court appearance in front of fans since.

Alcaraz’s next scheduled event is the Paris Masters in November.

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Sources: – [Alcaraz dumped out of Shanghai](https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/13598151/carlos-alcaraz-dumped-out-of-shanghai-masters-in-third-round-by-zizou-bergs) – [Nadal: ‘He’s already a legend’](https://www.yardbarker.com/tennis/articles/hes_already_a_legend_rafael_nadal_anoints_carlos_alcaraz_after_historic_career_grand_slam/s1_17396_43456222) – [How Shanghai exit affects rankings](https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-features/how-carlos-alcaraz-shanghai-masters-exit-affects-atp-rankings) – [What went wrong for Alcaraz](https://www.si.com/onsi/serve/news/what-went-wrong-carlos-alcaraz-third-round-upset-shanghai-01m4rc03yepz) – [Rafa Nadal Academy Slam preview](https://www.puntodebreak.com/en/2026/10/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-rafa-nadal-academy-slam)

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