Jannik Sinner was stripped of the Wimbledon trophy just minutes after defeating Alexander Zverev in the final, as per tradition, the original gentlemen's singles trophy remains the permanent property of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
Tradition of the Trophy
The All England Club decided in the 1880s that the trophy would never become the permanent property of the victor again. This came 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.
Instead, players are presented with a smaller replica of the iconic 18-inch cup, which bears the name of every previous champion. Sinner secured back-to-back SW19 titles on Sunday, defeating recent French Open champion Alexander Zverev 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The Ceremony and Retrieval
Following 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 Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. He then met with outgoing AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton to speak to Prince William, Princess Kate, and their children.
The world No. 1 posed for photographs on the balcony, proudly displaying the shiny golden trophy to the crowd, before celebrating privately with his team, including coach Darren Cahill. Watching the 24-year-old celebrate, Tim Henman said on BBC One: "He's done well to hold on to the trophy that long." Soon after, Bolton reappeared to retrieve it. 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."
Symbolic Return Before the Tournament
It comes after Sinner symbolically returned the same original trophy prior to the tournament last month. The Italian did not get to keep the 139-year-old gentlemen's singles trophy when he triumphed at SW19 last year either, having handed it back straight away as he did on Sunday.
He returned to the All England Club in June to meet with Jevans and symbolically 'return' it, having likely been given the real thing for a short time to give it back as if he were relinquishing his title. Jevans greeted Sinner by suggesting it was unfortunate that he'd have to give up the crown, but hinted it may not be long until he gets to lift the real trophy again. She said in a video for Stan Sport: "You have to give it back! Thank you and I'm sorry. Hopefully only for a few weeks! You look as if you're pleased to get rid of it."
Sinner's Victory
Sinner retained his title in incredible fashion, having not dropped a set between the end of the first round and his final win over Zverev. The 24-year-old fought from a set down to claim a four-set victory over the German.
