WIMBLEDON/WASHINGTON, July 15, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
After Jannik Sinner delivered a 137 mile-per-hour serve that Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t return, which rewarded the young Italian with his first Wimbledon Championships title, he stood with his arms high above his head and seized the moment.
Sinner had just won his fourth major and it was his first on a non-hard court surface. He smiled and laughed. It was only once he dropped his long arms that he showed a sigh of relief. The 6-foot-3-inch, 23-year-old from the South Tyrol region of northern Italy had become the first Wimbledon singles champion – man or woman – from his country.
Aura.#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/DyYJlKAPs4
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2025
In doing so, Sinner ended the reign of his good friend Alcaraz, who had won the last two Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles titles and was going after a three-peat. It’s something that had only been accomplished before by Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The first two are Hall of Famers and the other two are certain to be future Hall of Famers, the last whom Sinner beat in Friday’s semifinal round.
“Winning Wimbledon is the most special thing you can have,” the top-ranked Sinner said after he defeated No. 2 Alcaraz in four close sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, spanning three hours and four minutes, on Centre Court at the All England Club.
Sinner was crowned champion before 15,000 adoring fans, many who shouted “Forza, Jannik!” throughout the final. Plus, there was a Royal box audience that included: the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, and two of their three children; the King of Spain, Felipe VI; tennis Hall of Famers Stan Smith, Chris Evert, Stefan Edberg, Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt; and Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, widow of Hall of Famer Arthur Ashe, who won the Wimbledon men’s title 50 years ago in 1975.
#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/YbqyYwzlvJ
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2025
“This was a dream of a dream,” Sinner said of winning his first Wimbledon title, to go along with the two he’s won at the Australian Open and one at the US Open. A winner of 19 titles overall, Sinner has played in a remarkable four consecutive major finals. Next month, he will defend his US Open title at Flushing Meadows against all comers.
Sinner arrived at Wimbledon five weeks removed from suffering one of the most agonizing Grand Slam losses, when he squandered three championship points to Alcaraz and lost the French Open title. It was an epic five setter that lasted more than five hours. But guess what? Sinner put the trauma to rest and began to think toward the future. He knew the change of surface, from clay to grass, would work to his advantage.
“You know,” Sinner said, “winning Wimbledon is the most special thing you can have.”
An indescribable feeling… ✨#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/QOi8n7D90T
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2025
When Sinner won, it was his first victory over Alcaraz in six meetings and broke the Spaniard’s five-match winning streak that dated back to March 2024.
“Jannik has had chances in maybe four of the five matches they’ve played to beat him,” Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill said in a news conference after his protégé’s victory. “Hasn’t been able to get the victory. So today was important not just because it was a Grand Slam final, not just because it was Wimbledon and not just because Carlos had won the last five matches against him. He needs that win today.”
From Alcaraz’s point of view, he noted that Sinner’s consistency throughout the championship match proved to be mentally draining for him. Indeed, Sinner won 75 percent of his first serve points and backed it by garnering 60 percent of his second-serve points. He hit 40 winners, won 30 of 40 points that he played at the net and converted four of nine break points, By the end, Sinner had outpointed Alcaraz 125-113.
“He was pushing me to the limit in every point,” Alcaraz said during his post-match news conference. “It was really difficult when you are feeling that you hare just defending all the time.”
Looking back, Cahill summed up Sinner’s triumph this way: “Today’s match, I think was a match of moments. Of just who was going to step up in the big moment and make something happen. At Roland-Garros, it was Carlos, and today it was Jannik. So we could not be more proud of him.”
The smile says it all #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/NpogA63YDu
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2025
Sinner was asked by the moderator at the start of his champion’s news conference how it felt to be the Wimbledon men’s singles champion. The winner of the 138th edition of the Wimbledon Championships replied: “Yeah, feels amazing. The tournament I always dreamed of just playing and to be part of. … Amazing feeling.”
When Sinner was asked by a reporter about his emotional reaction to winning Wimbledon, he said: “Yeah, very emotional, no, even if I don’t cry. It feels emotional because only me and the people who are close to me know exactly what we have been through on and off the court, and it has been everything except easy.
“We’ve tried to push, you know, every practice session, even when I was struggling at times mentally. Maybe even more in practice sessions because I feel like when I play the match, I can switch off and just play. I believe that this helped me a lot.”
Cahill, for one, believes the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz is “amazing already” and can get better with both pushing each other. “I do think there’s some other younger players coming through that will punch their way through the door, so it won’t just be a two-man show,” he said.
It’s just what these two do.#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/4tpZdhOjuO
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2025
Sinner admitted that his friendly rivalry with the 22-year-old Spaniard has motivated him to become a better player.
“I keep looking up to Carlos because even today I felt like he was doing couple of things better than I did,” he said. “So that’s something where we will work on and prepare ourselves because he’s going to come for us again. There is not only Carlos, but everyone.
“We’ve tried have a big target of us, so we have to be prepared. Then we see what’s happening in the future. …
“Coming here and winning Wimbledon, it has been amazing, no?
“I tried to believe in myself and to accept whatever happens. There is only one way, no, to get better as a player. This hopefully, if you do that, the chances that you win matches, it’s higher because you put your effort in, daily effort. This is exactly what we did.
“From now on were going to do it even more because there are players who are going to come. You have to be prepared.”
He’s back
Jannik Sinner returns to Centre Court as the Gentlemen’s Singles Champion
#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/TGp1ndIuSN— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2025
