Why Jannik Sinner Had to Return His Wimbledon Trophy Less Than 30 Minutes After Winning
Right after winning his second Wimbledon trophy, Jannik Sinner had to hand it back because of a competition rule. Sinner became only the tenth man ever to win Wimbledon two years in a row, beating Alexander Zverev 7-6(7), 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court.
After an exhausting match, the Italian collapsed to the floor in celebration. Before the official speeches and trophy presentation, he called it a “very, very special day” and thanked all the fans for their amazing support.
Sinner first won the gold trophy last year after beating Carlos Alcaraz at SW19, so it was back in his hands again a year later. But as the 24-year-old found out, players only get to keep the real trophy for a short time.
He took part in his champion duties, including being shown the updated honors list with his name twice by Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club. Upstairs, he even chatted with Prince William, Princess Kate, and their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
With BBC cameras following, Sinner posed for photos on the famous balcony with the trophy and his team. But then Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, came and took the trophy back.
Commentator Tim Henman joked that Sinner had “done well to hold on to the trophy that long,” only for Bolton to interrupt, saying, “You’ve had enough of that!” Although the real trophy was taken away, Sinner will take home a three-quarter-sized replica, as confirmed by BBC presenter Clare Balding. This smaller trophy also has the names of all past winners.
The tradition started in the 1880s—Wimbledon winners never get to keep the original trophy permanently, even if they win twice in a row.
Besides the trophy, Sinner also earned a record prize for winning again. Last year, he got £3 million for beating Alcaraz. This year, the total prize money was £64.2 million, a 20% increase, so Sinner took home £3.6 million—the same as women’s champion Noskova.
This is the highest prize ever at Wimbledon, but players hope for even bigger shares in the future. As for Zverev, who won the French Open earlier this year, he earned £1.8 million for being the runner-up here.