Sinner beats Zverev to defend Wimbledon title again

Jannik Sinner turned a bruising French Open exit into another Wimbledon crown, outlasting Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court. After dropping the opening set in a tiebreak, the world No. 1 steadied, flipped the next tiebreak 7-2, and closed the match by taking the last two sets as Zverev dealt with a knee issue after a slip in the third.

The victory gave Sinner his second consecutive Wimbledon title and his fifth Grand Slam overall. It also made him the 10th man in the Open Era to successfully defend the Wimbledon men’s singles title, and it delivered his first major title of 2026. Zverev, playing in his first Wimbledon men’s singles final, pushed the match deep into the afternoon in a near-four-hour duel between the top two men in the world.

The title came in Sinner’s first tournament since his painful French Open defeat in late May, when Juan Manuel Cerúndolo beat him 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 in the second round. That loss ended Sinner’s 30-match winning streak and halted his attempt to complete the Career Grand Slam after he had appeared to struggle physically in the heat in Paris. After losing the first set, Sinner tightened his play, absorbed Zverev’s pressure, and kept his composure as the match shifted in his favor.

Darren Cahill said Sinner’s response after the setbacks showed “amazing resilience,” and called Roland Garros one of the “kicks in the stomach” the Italian had worked through.