Jannik Sinner hands back the Wimbledon winner’s trophy to Sally Bolton (Image: BBC)
Jannik Sinner had the iconic Wimbledon winner’s trophy taken away from him barely half an hour after receiving it – because players do not get to keep the actual trophy. They are instead gifted a smaller replica of the iconic 18-inch cup which bears the names of all the past champions. The All England Lawn Tennis Club decided in the 1880s that the trophy would never become the property of the winner again.
That was after Wimbledon‘s first two trophies, the Field Cup and the Challenge Cup, were claimed by William Renshaw who twice won the grass-court Grand Slam three years in a row. Sinner became a back-to-back SW19 champion on Sunday by beating recent French Open victor Alexander Zverev 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4. But despite having won the major in 2025 and 2026, that still doesn’t grant him the right to take the trophy home with him for the night.
After giving his on-court speech, Sinner was shown the updated honours board inside the Centre Court tunnel by Debbie Jevans, the chair of the All England Club. He was then whisked off upstairs by outgoing AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton to speak to Prince William, Princess Kate and their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
After that, the world No.1 posed for photographs on the balcony, showing off the shiny golden trophy to a huge crowd gathered below. Sinner then got the chance to enjoy a private moment with his team, including coach Darren Cahill.
Watching the 24-year-old celebrate with his team, Tim Henman said on BBC One: “He’s done well to hold on to the trophy that long.” And just as the former British No.1 said that, Bolton reappeared to take it back off him. Henman added: “Sally Bolton the chief executive, there she goes. ‘You’ve had enough of that!'”
BBC host Clare Balding chimed in: “That’s it for another year! He’ll get the three-quarter-sized replica which will go home with him. He can eat pineapples with a smile on his face for the rest of his life.”
Earlier, Sinner had told the Centre Court crowd of his delight at retaining his crown. The five-time Grand Slam champion said: “We both started off very well, serving very fast. We prepared in the best possible way, me and my team. I have to thank the whole team, the whole support I get from the whole box. My mum, I see her, she left the stadium a couple of times.
“Being a player it’s not easy, you know? (laughs) But in the same time it’s been an amazing final once again. It always takes two players, and me and Sascha try to give everything we have. I’m very happy of course about the win but I’m mostly very happy about the level we both played.
EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Jannik Sinner has the Wimbledon trophy taken away from him (Image: BBC)
Jannik Sinner shows off the trophy to the crowd from the Wimbledon Centre Court balcony (Image: Getty)
“You [the fans] are the reason. There is no better place honestly to play tennis, standing here. You can feel the nerves on the Sunday morning when you wake up. You know that this is a very, very special day and you never know how many times you can come back on Sunday.
“I never take things for granted playing in front of very, very special people throughout the whole couple of weeks. It has been amazing and thanks for the support. You are always amazing to me and you gave me the most special feeling a tennis player can feel so thank you so much.
“It’s been a couple of very, very warm days. No rain for the first time which is amazing but I would love to thank all the ballkids and ballboys for everything you do.
“You make our lives on court as simple as possible so thank you. Thanks the whole organisation behind the scenes. This is truly the most special tournament we have throughout the year. Thank you so much and see you all next year.”
While he told runner-up Zverev: “As Sascha did, I would like to start with you and your whole team and family. You reached one of your main goals, winning Grand Slams and you made it happen in Paris. Today you were so, so close. If you play like this, I’m very, very sure you’re going to have this one at home as well.
“Amazing. Keep going. I know another goal for you is to become number one in the world. You’re very close so I have to be very careful now! But congrats.”
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy