Sinner Seizes The Moment, Wins First Wimbledon Title

Jannik Sinner, Wimbledon
Jannik Sinner (photo: Jürgen Hasenkopf)

WIMBLEDON/WASHINGTON, July 13, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

Rivalries are good for tennis. Just ask Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

“It’s good for the sport,” the 23-year-old Italian said in the build up for Sunday’s Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles final. “The more rivalries we have from now on, the better it is, because people want to see young players going against each other.”

As Sinner and Alcaraz, the Top 2 players in the sport – and a generation-defining rivalry if there ever has been one – walked out onto a glistened Centre Court at 4:10 p.m. British Summer Time to play the final match of the 138th edition of the Wimbledon Championships, both attired in their finest Nike whites, they received quite a reception from the 15,000-strong fans, who filled the stands to the brim on this partly-cloudy 27º Celsius (81º Fahrenheit) summer afternoon.

In the Royal Box were the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, plus two of their three children; the King of Spain, Felipe VI; and past Wimbledon champions and Hall of Famers Stan Smith, Chris Evert, Andre Agassi, Stefan Edberg and Lleyton Hewitt, and Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, widow of Arthur Ashe, who won the Wimbledon men’s title 50 years ago in 1975.

After posing for the requisite pre-match photos at the center of the court, it was on to the matter of hand, namely deciding the Gentlemen’s Singles champion. It was the 17th time in the Open Era that the Top 2 seeds have contested the Wimbledon men’s singles final.

By the end of their three-hour, four-minute battle, the best man with the best plan won: Sinner prevailed over Alcaraz, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to win his first major on a surface other than a hard court. Between them, they’ve now won the last seven straight Grand Slam titles.

In winning, Sinner became the first Italian singles champion – man or woman – at Wimbledon. By losing a major final for the first time, Alcaraz’s 24-match winning streak this season – and his 20-match Wimbledon unbeaten streak dating back to 2023 – had both ended. It was Alcaraz’s first loss on grass in 2025 and it ended his chance to win three consecutive Wimbledon crowns, a feat that only Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic had accomplished. He remains owner of five Grand Slam titles.

Looking over the match statistics, Sinner won 75 percent of his first-serve points (54 of 72), hit 40 winners – including eight aces – to 40 unforced errors, won 30 of 40 net-point exchanges, converted four of nine break points and outpointed Alcaraz 125-113. By comparison, Alcaraz won 75 percent of his first-serve points (48 of 64), hit 15 aces and 38 total winners, committed 36 unforced errors, won 17 of 23 net points and converted two of six break points.

Sinner, who has competed in the final in each of the last four Grand Slams, succeeded because he was mentally strong and resilient. Although Sinner won their only previous meeting on grass at Wimbledon in the round of 16 of the 2022 tournament, Alcaraz had been the dominant player in their career head-to-head rivalry. The 22-year-old Spaniard had won eight of 12 meetings – including the past five clashes – highlighted by his epic 5-set, 5-hour-plus Roland-Garros title victory over Sinner last month that featured both power and skill.

By the conclusion of their grass-court major final at SW19, the rematch of the Roland-Garros final from five weeks ago lived up to its lofty expectations. Perhaps, by winning Wimbledon, Sinner’s heartbreak of losing the French Open had subsided on this day.

“I’m just living my dream. It’s amazing,” Sinner said in accepting the Wimbledon champion’s trophy.

Looking back, Alcaraz got off to a fantastic start by hitting his first ace of the match and followed it with a service winner. He won the opening game at love and onward they played. Soon, at 2-all, Sinner converted the first break of the set to go ahead 3-2 after Alcaraz made a forced error by hitting a forehand long.

Sinner consolidated the break with a backhand volley winner and a service winner, which gave him a 4-2 lead. However, Alcaraz held and broke back for 4-all, winning three straight points including the final one on an unforced backhand error by Sinner. Then, Alcaraz pushed ahead with a hold in the ninth game, highlighted by a backhand winner and his second ace, a 140-mph rocket that was his fasted serve of the fortnight. He wrapped up the 44-minute opening set with a creative, sliding backhand winner that capped an 11-shot rally and resulted in his second break of Sinner’s serve.

As the second set began, Sinner got an early break for a 1-0 lead and consolidated it for a 2-0 advantage. Yet, it remained to be seen if he’s in command. Next, Alcaraz held with a blistering service winner as the match reached the one-hour mark. Soon, after both sides held their serve, with Sinner maintaining a break lead at 3-2, the South Tyrolean held after hitting his ninth winner of the match. Then, with his back against the wall, Alcaraz saved a pair of break points from 15-40 and went on to hold serve with his sixth ace and a backhand forced error by Sinner. However, Sinner wrapped up the 48-minute set with a brilliant ninth-shot, cross-court forehand winner – and it guaranteed that this final would go at least four sets.

After a series of holds, in which each competitor contributed some impressive ball striking to begin the third set, the score was even at 3-all as the final reached the two-hour mark. Then, Sinner was impressive in the eighth game, holding serve with his fifth and sixth aces for 4-all. He broke Alcaraz to push ahead 5-4, thanks to a forehand winner that set up break point and a backhand volley winner, which gave him the lead. Serving for the set and a two-sets-to-one lead, Sinner hit his seventh ace and parlayed an overhead smash winner to give him a set point. Then, he won the 46-minute third set after hitting a service winner.

With Sinner ahead two sets to one, could he rise to the challenge and put away the Wimbledon title in the fourth set? The answer would be forthcoming, but things were looking good for him overall.

As Sinner was one set from winning his first Wimbledon title, he remained at ease and focused. The same couldn’t be said for Alcaraz, who began to show signs of fatigue and weariness. Sinner broke for a 2-1 lead after hitting a pair of solid backhand winners. Then, he consolidated the break for a 3-1 advantage with an easy love hold after Alcaraz sailed a backhand long. The Spaniard managed to hold serve in the fifth game but it was anything but easy after Sinner won a pair of nifty points with a back winner and a backhand volley winner. However, Sinner held serve for 4-2 with a lucky net-cord winner off a forehand as he began to look more confident and impressive in his demeanor.

Alcaraz remained close with a hold at 30 after striking a forehand volley winner. He gained a break point in the ensuing game at 15-40 after Sinner hit a pair of errant forehands. But Sinner gained deuce after winning the next two points, and held for 5-3 after Alcaraz hit a forehand long. Sinner would need to only hold serve once more. With his back against the wall, Alcaraz stood firm and held after hitting a third-shot forehand volley winner.

At 7:19 p.m. – after battling for two hours and 59 minutes – Sinner and Alcaraz enjoyed one final sit down of The Championships. Then, it was time for Sinner to step up and serve for his first Wimbledon title. As the match reached the three-hour mark, and with the crowd vocalizing their support for both players, Sinner went ahead 15-0 after Alcaraz missed with a forehand return that ended a 16-shot rally. Then, he made it 30-0 with a third-shot backhand winner. Next, Sinner gained championship point with a seventh-shot backhand volley winner standing in front of the net.

On his first championship point, Sinner netted a third-shot backhand. Finally, he won the match and the title on his second try with a solid service winner. The moment of truth – and of triumph – was Sinner’s to savor.

At last, Sinner raised his arms in celebration and beamed a smile that lit up all of Centre Court and throughout the All England Club. After sharing a hug at the net with Alcaraz and shaking hands with chair umpire Alison Hughes, Sinner returned to the middle of the court and knelt down. He patted the grass three times. Soon, Sinner found his way up in the stands to share hugs with his team, including his coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, as well as his family and friends, too. The Centre Court fans gave Sinner a loud and rewarding standing ovation – and it was a very deserving one.

During the trophy ceremony, Sinner expressed his feelings on what it meant to him in winning his first Wimbledon trophy.

“It’s mostly emotional, because I had a very tough loss in Paris,” Sinner said. “But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how you win or how you lose at important tournaments, you just have to understand what you did wrong and try to work on that, and that’s exactly what we did. We tried to accept the loss and just kept working. This is for sure one of the reasons I am holding this trophy here. I am just so grateful that I am healthy and have great people around me, and holding this trophy means a lot.”

Sinner gave props to Alcaraz, spoke about the importance of their rivalry, and shared how important it was to be able to win in front of his parents and family.

“Carlos, again, an amazing tournament, but mostly thank you for the player you are,” he said. “It’s so difficult to play against you, but we have an amazing relationship off the court and on the court, we just try to build up, and to do that we need the best teams in the world. Keep going, keep pushing and you are going to hold this [trophy] many times. You already have two [Wimbledon titles]!

“It’s so special. Seeing my parents here, my brother, my whole team, it’s amazing. Actually a special thanks to my brother, because there is no Formula 1 race this weekend, that’s why he is here.”

Alcaraz remained upbeat and praised Sinner in defeat after he received his runner-up plate.

“It’s difficult to lose. It’s always difficult to lose, even if it is in the final, but first of all I have to congratulate Jannik once again,” Alcaraz said. “It is a really well-deserved trophy [after] an unbelievable two weeks here in London for you, playing great tennis. For your team as well. I know that there are a lot of family and a lot of friends watching you here, so it’s just an amazing team around you.

“I’m really happy for you. So just keep it going, and I’m really happy to be able to build a really good relationship off the court but then a good rivalry on the court. It makes me improve every day, so thank you very much and congratulations.”

By the conclusion of the title match, Sinner had shown clarity in his tactics and exuded the ability to execute his game plan. He never waivered, never seemed too bothered by the enormity of the moment. It all added up to one of his greatest days as a tennis professional, winning Wimbledon for the first time.

Sinner ended the reign of the two-time defending champion Alcaraz – and in doing so, perhaps started a new dominion of his own.

Kudermetova and Mertens win Wimbledon women’s doubles title

Eighth-seeded Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium, who were making their team debut at Wimbledon – but were no strangers to playing in the women’s doubles final at the All England Club –  won their first Grand Slam title together on Sunday. They defeated the No. 4 seeds, Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, in two hours and 23 minutes – including a 59-minute third set.

For the first time, the Ladies’ Doubles final preceded the Gentlemen’s Singles final on Centre Court and both teams put on an entertaining display of doubles tennis. By the end, Kudermetova and Mertens combined to hit nine winners – including four aces – and converted seven of 11 break points. They outpointed their opponents 99-94, winning the last four games of the final.

The Russian/Belgian duo won their first event together at Istanbul in 2021 and went on to win another two titles, both in 2022, at Dubai and the WTA Finals. After a two-year hiatus, they rejoined forces earlier this year and reached two finals, at Madrid and Rome. Wimbledon was just their fifth event together this season.

While Kudermetova was a 2021 Wimbledon finalist with Russia’s Elena Vesnina, losing to Hsieh and Mertens, the Belgian star has a long history at Wimbledon. Mertens owns a 30-8 match record in doubles and now has won two Wimbledon women’s doubles titles and five majors overall.

Hsieh has won four Wimbledon doubles titles with three different partners, and Ostapenko was attempting to capture her second major doubles after winning last year’s US Open with Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine.

“For me, it’s very special,” Kudermetova said. ““I lost that final and it was so painful. Today I said to myself, I really want it. And it’s mine now.”

Added Mertens: “This is such a special tournament with its history. I’m very happy to have Veronika by my side to win this one.”

Later, in the champion’s news conference, Mertens described the feeling of winning a Wimbledon title. “It’s an incredible feeling,” she said. “There is no feeling like winning The Championships. It was a very close match today. I was so happy that we converted our first match point. So, yeah, two happy people.”

Around the All England Club

• No. 1 seed Tokito Oda of Japan and No. 2 seed Alfie Hewett of Great Britain renewed their rivalry in the Wimbledon men’s wheelchair singles final, which was won by Oda, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, in two hours and 16 minutes on No. 1 Court. It was the third Grand Slam final this season that Oda and Hewett had competed in.

The 19-year-old Oda hit 53 winners, converted eight of 14 break points and outpointed Hewett 108-93.

It was Oda’s 12th career win over Hewett in 21 meetings. They’ve met seven times in Grand Slams and this was their second meeting at Wimbledon. All of their Grand Slam tussles have come in finals. It was Oda’s second Wimbledon title – and sixth major title overall – and he’s the second second player to win multiple Wimbledon men’s wheelchair singles titles, after Stefan Olsson, who won the title at the All England Club in 2017 and 2018. He also completed the Paris-London double-double for the second time after winning Roland-Garros last month.

• No. 1 seed Niels Vink of the Netherlands won his third consecutive Wimbledon quad wheelchair singles title by defeating fellow Dutch and No. 2 seed Sam Schroder, the 2022 titlist, 6-3, 6-3, in 69 minutes on No. 3 Court.

Vink, who hit 29 winners and converted six of eight break points against Schroder, outpointed his opponent 64-50.

It was the 39th meeting for Vink and Schroder, their 10th  at a Grand Slam and third at Wimbledon. Vink leads the overall head-to-head 26-13 and their head-to-head in Grand Slams 6-4. It was their 34th meeting in the final of a tournament.

• No. 2 seeds Li Xiaohui and Wang Ziying of China won the Wimbledon women’s wheelchair doubles title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Angelica Bernal of Colombia and Kenia Chasteau of France in 55 minutes on No. 3 Court.

Li and Wang combined to hit nine winners, converted five of eight break points and outpointed their opponents 59-39.

On Saturday, Wang won the Wimbledon women’s singles wheelchair title, the first non-Dutch player to win the Wimbledon event.

• No. 6 seed Ivan Ivanov of Bulgaria, 16, needed just 57 minutes to win the Wimbledon junior boys’ singles title over unseeded 17-year-old Ronit Karki of the United States, 6-2, 6-3 on No. 1 Court. It was Ivanov’s 100th career junior victory.

A student at the Rafa Nadal Academy, Ivanov hit 22 winners – including six aces – won 76 percent (26 of 34) of his first-serve points, converted three of five break points and outpointed Karki 57-39.

En route to winning his first Grand Slam boys’ singles title, Ivanov did not drop any sets in his six matches. He’s the second Bulgarian player to win a Wimbledon junior boys’ singles title – after 2008 champion Grigor Dimitrov. He’s the sixth Bulgarian player to win a Grand Slam junior singles title – and the first since Dimitrov at the 2008 US Open.

“The last champion was Grigor in 2008,” Ivanov said during his post-match news conference. “So for me [it] was a privilege to play [the] final, that’s for sure. And to be a great battle today was something very nice, too.”

The victory improved Ivanov’s career junior win-loss record to 100-35, including 39-8 this season.

• No. 8 seeds Kristina Penickova of the United States and Vendula Valdmannova of Czechia won the Wimbledon junior girls’ doubles title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 5 seeds Thea Frodin and Julieta Pareja of the United States in 59 minutes on Court 12.

The American/Czech pair combined to hit four winners, converted three of five break points and outpointed the American duo 64-47.

Sunday’s Wimbledon results

By the numbers

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are guaranteed to remain ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, when the new PIF ATP Rankings are released Monday – regardless of the result of Sunday’s final. Following his semifinal finish at Wimbledon, Taylor Fritz is projected to moved from No. 5 to No. 4 – exchanging places in the rankings with Jack Draper, who will drop from No. 4 to No. 5.

Alexander Zverev will remain No. 3. The remainder of the Top 10: No. 6 Novak Djokovic, No. 7 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 8 Holger Rune, No. 9 Ben Shelton, No. 10 Andrey Rublev.

“Quotable …”

“This tournament is different from the other tournaments. It’s so beautiful and every is different. I like to play with the white shirts – everything is special for me. Motivation before the matches is definitely different so I really appreciate this moment. 

“I love tennis and I love to play on the big stadium. That was definitely a battle with Alfie but I really enjoy this moment. Maybe 100 percent of the people were  cheering for Alfie but I really enjoyed that moment. I’m really happy right now.”

– Tokito Oda, the 19-year-old Wimbledon gentlemen’s wheelchair singles champion, following his come-from-behind three-set victory over defending champion Alfie Hewett of Great Britain.

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