After a stunning exit at the French Open, Jannik Sinner arrived at Wimbledon determined to reset his season. He even narrowly lost the opening set in the final but responded with authority from the second, defeating Alexander Zverev with ease in their first grass-court clash. Yet the celebration proved short-lived, as he left without an original trophy despite successfully defending his title.

Jannik Sinner had the iconic SW19 winner’s trophy taken away from him barely half an hour after lifting it. While the moment looked surprising after the historic win, it is actually a long-standing tradition at the All England Club.

SW19 champions do not get to keep the original trophy. Instead, every singles winner, both in ATP and WTA, receives a smaller replica of the famous 18-inch cup, which carries the names of all previous champions.

The AELTC made this rule back in the 1880s. Since then, the original trophy has never again become the permanent property of any champion.

The decision came after SW19’s first two trophies, the Field Cup and the Challenge Cup, were both claimed by former British tennis icon William Renshaw. He achieved the feat by winning the grass-court Grand Slam 3 years in a row on two separate occasions.

Although the Italian has now won SW19 in both 2025 and 2026, the tradition still applies to him. 

Once his on-court speech ended at Centre Court, the Italian was escorted inside Centre Court. Debbie Jevans, the chair of the All England Club, showed him the updated honours board inside the famous tunnel.

Outgoing AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton then took him upstairs. The celebrations continued on the balcony of the All-England Club as Sinner proudly held up the golden trophy. 

Later, the 24-year-old spent some private time celebrating with his team. His Aussie coach, Darren Cahill, joined him before Sally Bolton returned to collect the original trophy.

The same thing happened with Iga Swiatek last year. After defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0, she also had to give back the title trophy to the All-England Club, following the tournament’s long-established tradition.

So even though the world No. 1 has now chased the SW19 victory for the second time, he still cannot keep the original Wimbledon trophy. Sinner’s trophy cabinet, however, now carries an even larger legacy than almost anyone else on tour.

Jannik Sinner extends his lead over Carlos Alcaraz after SW19 win

With his victory yesterday, the Italian top seed widened his lead over Carlos Alcaraz in the ‘Big Titles’ race. The 24-year-old achieved the milestone by winning his second consecutive SW19 title on Sunday.

The triumph also earned Sinner his 17th Big Title. The category combines 5 Grand Slam titles, 10 ATP Masters 1000 trophies, 2 Nitto ATP Finals crowns, and Olympic singles gold medals.

Alcaraz now sits on 15 Big Titles, and the gap between the two has transformed over the past few months. At the start of February, the picture looked very different. After winning the AO, Alcaraz led the rivalry 15-11 and appeared firmly in control.

Since then, however, the five-time Grand Slam winner has reversed the race around. He has captured six of the last seven Big Title events in remarkable fashion.

The 24-year-old also made history during that run. Sinner became the first player to win the opening five ATP Masters 1000 tournaments of a season since the series began in 1990.

His victories came at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid, and Rome. And even in the Italian capital, he also completed the prestigious Career Golden Masters.

This SW19 triumph marked Sinner’s sixth Big Title of the 2026 season. That equals the highest total he has collected in a single year, matching his 2024 campaign.

With Carlos Alcaraz now standing outside the top spot after his ranking dropped today, the Italian carries fresh momentum. He will now turn his attention to another major challenge at the US Open, which starts on August 23.