WORLD No. 1 Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Wimbledon title on Monday, July 13, 2026 (PH time), defeating Germany’s Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 to capture his fifth Grand Slam crown and first major championship of the 2026 season.
According to Xinhua, the Italian needed three hours and 46 minutes to overcome the second-seeded Zverev in a high-quality final on Centre Court, becoming the 10th man in the Open Era to retain the Wimbledon singles title.
“It has been an amazing final once again. It always takes two players,” Sinner said. “I’m very happy about the win but also about the level we played.”
Zverev claimed the opening set in a tiebreak and pushed Sinner to another breaker in the second before the top seed leveled the match. Sinner then took control with steady serving, strong baseline play and timely breaks in each of the final two sets.
The victory extended Sinner’s winning streak against Zverev to 10 matches.
“He showed once again why he is the best player in the world,” Zverev said of Sinner.
Sinner said the title carried special meaning after setbacks earlier in the year, including a semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open and an early exit at the French Open.
“We put in a lot of work in Monaco,” Sinner said. “Having this achievement means a lot to me.”
The 24-year-old credited his team for helping him improve throughout the tournament, while Zverev described the runner-up finish as a breakthrough after reaching his first Wimbledon final.
“We had a pretty good two months, even though we lost this final,” Zverev said. “We came into Wimbledon having never reached the quarterfinals, and we reached a first final. At 29, this is the first time I believed I could win this trophy.” / LBG
