When Jannik Sinner arrived at Wimbledon, there were questions aplenty. They hinged on the defeat he suffered at the French Open, where he wilted in the second round under the extreme Paris heat despite being two sets and 5-1 up. When he needed five sets to get past the first round at the All England Club, the intrigue about his physical health and state of tennis deepened. None of his achievements in the 52 weeks preceding Wimbledon — 76 wins against just six losses, and 10 titles — seemed to matter. But with two superlative performances, against Novak Djokovic in the semifinal and Alexander Zverev in the final, the World No. 1 silenced the doubters in the best possible fashion. Djokovic and Zverev were his two biggest threats, with the former a seven-time winner at SW19 and the latter the reigning Roland-Garros champion. But the Italian’s top-notch serving and baseline consistency fetched him his second straight Wimbledon and fifth Major title. The success was also Sinner’s tenth consecutive victory over Zverev. But even in defeat, the German can hold his head high. Since the start of 2024, men’s tennis has largely been a cat-and-mouse game between Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Zverev’s potential entry as the distinguished third will make the sport healthier.
The women’s game has had a more even spread of champions, and Wimbledon has been at the forefront of producing them. It was no different this year as Linda Noskova became the tenth different women’s singles winner at SW19 in as many years. The fact that Noskova, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina are the only ones in this list to also feature in the current WTA top-10 is indicative of the depth in quality. The player from Czechia was spoken of but was never considered the favourite to win, for she had reached the quarterfinal stage at a Slam only once before. Yet, the 21-year-old put together a remarkable streak that culminated in the pulsating three-set triumph over compatriot Karolina Muchova (2023 French Open finalist). The most impressive bit was Noskova’s resilience in roaring back after missing out on five championship points in the second set. At the start of the tournament, there was concern that such elite performances would be dulled by protests from players demanding a better revenue-sharing model from the organisers. For a second straight Major, a temporary truce was called, allowing tennis to be solely in the limelight.
Published – July 15, 2026 12:10 am IST
