Jannik Sinner has Wimbledon trophy stripped from him minutes after profitable iconic remaining
Jannik Sinner retained his Wimbledon crown by beating Alexander Zverev in the 2026 final, but the Italian had to hand back the iconic trophy as per long-standing All England Club tradition – he went home with a replica instead
Jannik Sinner showed off the trophy to the crowd from the Wimbledon Centre Court balcony(Image: Getty)
Jannik Sinner had the prestigious Wimbledon winner’s trophy removed from his grasp barely half an hour after it was presented to him – because players aren’t permitted to keep the actual trophy. Instead, they are given a smaller replica of the iconic 18-inch cup which is engraved with the names of all previous champions.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club resolved in the 1880s that the trophy would never again become the property of the victor. This decision came after Wimbledon’s first two trophies, the Field Cup and the Challenge Cup, were won by William Renshaw who twice clinched the grass-court Grand Slam three years consecutively. Sinner became a successive SW19 champion on Sunday by defeating recent French Open winner Alexander Zverev 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
However, despite having claimed the major in 2025 and 2026, this still doesn’t afford him the privilege to take the trophy home with him for the evening.
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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 Club. He was then swiftly escorted upstairs by outgoing AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton to converse with Prince William, Princess Kate and their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, reports the Express.
Subsequently, the world No. 1 posed for photographs on the balcony, flaunting the gleaming golden trophy to a large crowd assembled below. Sinner then had the opportunity to savour 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 presenter 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 joy at keeping hold of his title. 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.
“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.”
