The Princess of Wales has presented the Wimbledon men’s trophy to Jannik Sinner for the second year in a row after he successfully defended his title at the “most special tournament” of the year.
Dressed in an olive-green midi dress, Kate handed the prize to the Italian tennis player on Centre Court as the Prince of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte watched on from the royal box.
Temperatures peaked at 29C on the final day of the grand slam, with Kate, George and Charlotte using hand-held fans to keep cool, and dashing out mid-match to grab sunhats and shades.
Roars of celebration ripped through the Centre Court stands as Sinner secured his three-set victory over second seed Alexander Zverev.
Fans instantly jumped to their feet to applaud the 24-year-old, who collapsed onto the floor after his win, before running over to embrace his opponent across the net.
Chants of “Sinner you’re a saint” and “Sinner winner chicken dinner” could be heard from the crowd, as famous faces such as actors Ben Stiller and Nicole Kidman joined in congratulating him from the royal box.
Addressing the Centre Court crowd after his win, Sinner said there is “no better place to play tennis” than Wimbledon, spoke of the warm weather and paid tribute to the ball boys and ball girls.
He said: “There has 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 ball kids and ball boys for everything you do.
“You make our life on court as simple as possible, so thank you. Thanks (to the) whole organisation behind the scenes, this is truly the most special tournament we have throughout the year.”
Gesturing towards the royal box, Sinner said: “I never take these 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 ever feel like, so thank you so much.”
In his concession speech, Zverev spoke of the uniqueness of the prestigious Centre Court seating area, describing it as an “honour” to play in front of the royal family.
He said: “It’s very special playing on the Centre Court and it’s because of the royal box as well.
“The amount of special people that I see for every single match, especially for the final.
“It’s a great honour to play in front of you, Your Highness, and in front of everybody else as well.
“It’s, I think, the most unique court in the entire world and the royal box is a special thing and it’s a massive honour to play on this court – as simple as that.”
Speaking after the match, Kate told Sinner it was “really inspiring” for George and Charlotte to watch tennis played at his level.
The royal congratulated the Italian sportsman on his victory, and said: “You’ve had such a fantastic tournament so really, really well done.”
Sinner asked George if he was still playing tennis, to which the 12-year-old responded: “Yeah, very much so.”
The princess told Sinner: “It’s really inspiring for the children to see tennis at that level.”
For only the ninth time in Wimbledon’s near 150-year history, and for the first time since 2019, play did not have to be halted at any point during the championships due to rain.
Temperatures soared into the 30Cs for much of the tournament, with Wimbledon selling out of hand-held electric fans as guests contended with heatwave conditions.
Earlier on Sunday, the Waleses met British wildcard Arthur Fery, whose run to the semi-finals has been the story of the fortnight.
Fery turned 24 on Sunday and Kate handed him a card as she greeted him, saying: “This is for you, happy birthday.”
During the interaction, Fery invited the Waleses’ children to play tennis with him.
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