LONDON: Jannik Sinner says only those close to him know what he has been through in recent months after winning his maiden Wimbledon trophy.
The world No.1 beat nemesis Carlos Alcaraz in four sets to become the first Italian to win a singles title at SW19. Sinner has now won two out of three Grand Slams played this year, with his only loss being in the final of the French Open, when he was edged out in five sets by the Spaniard.
Outside of the majors, Sinner has only been able to play at two other tournaments so far in 2025, which were in Rome and Halle, due to a 90-day suspension for an anti-doping violation. The suspension was related to two failed drug tests in 2024, which the International Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted was caused by accidental contamination during treatment.
However, the World Anti-Doping Agency launched an appeal arguing that Sinner had an element of responsibility because he employs his physio and therefore should have made sure they were following the right protocol. Eventually, a 90-day suspension was agreed upon in a case settlement between the tennis player’s legal team and WADA. Both the ITIA and WADA stated they had no evidence that Sinner intentionally took a banned substance.
Sinner concedes he felt particularly emotional following his Wimbledon triumph due to his challenges both on and off the court.
“It feels emotional because only me and the people who are close to me know exactly what we have been through on and off the court, and it has been everything except easy,” he said during his press conference.
“We’ve tried to push every practice session, even though I was struggling at times mentally. Maybe even more in practice sessions because I feel like when I play the match, I can switch off and just play. I believe that this helped me a lot.”
Besides his suspension, another challenge for Sinner was recovering from the final in Paris, where he had a trio of match points before losing. Then, in Halle, he lost his opening match before deciding to part ways with two members of his team – Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio.
“After Paris was tough. But we spoke a lot. We spoke that we were really proud of what he did in Paris,” Sinner’s coach Simone Vagnozzi commented.
“We came here (to Wimbledon) with the purpose of making a good tournament. It started really well. He had a really good week of practice the week before, so we were really confident that he was able to play a good tournament here.
“But his mental strength is really strong. We are lucky to work with a guy like this who, every day, goes on the court with the right mentality, with a good attitude. We are proud of him.”
Whilst he is relishing his latest victory, Sinner is not getting too carried away, given the threat coming from Alcaraz and others on the Tour. He also has a load of points to protect during the second half of the season, where he will be the defending champion at the US Open, ATP Finals and two Masters 1000 events.
As for the longer term, he believes there is plenty of time left for him to reach his peak form.
“I don’t think I’m at my best because at 23, I don’t think you can be in your best shape ever,” he explains.
“Hopefully, I can keep improving. But it’s important to have these kinds of players because you have to always think and have the strength to go on practice courts and keep going.”
