LONDON — The biggest reason behind Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon title was his mindset. Not his tennis, not his physical preparation. It was the mental work the Italian put in after enduring the toughest moment of his career that explains his most meaningful triumph.
“I said after Roland Garros that it wasn’t time to put me down, right? Because another Grand Slam was coming,” Sinner told reporters, referring to the emotional recovery following his loss in Paris, where he missed three championship points against Carlos Alcaraz — his fifth consecutive defeat to his biggest rival.
“This is the part I’m most proud of, because it really wasn’t easy,” said the 2025 Wimbledon champion.
He revealed during the trophy ceremony that his success in London came because he knew how to process his most painful loss. He accepted it and immediately got back to work: “That’s one of the reasons why I’m holding this trophy right now.”
Grigor Dimitrov could say something different. The tennis gods deserted him when, in the fourth round, he was two sets up against Sinner. Playing aggressive, inspired tennis, the Bulgarian was on the verge of delivering the tournament’s biggest surprise.
But an injury forced him to retire. His next round was played in a hospital bed.
“Luck” sided with Sinner, who later admitted that he couldn’t even consider that match a win.
Leaving aside the “what ifs”, after benefitting from Dimitrov’s misfortune, Sinner won two more matches in dominant fashion to reach the final. Tennis, a one-on-one sport without substitutions, is like that. The one who stays standing to the end wins.
To understand what happened on Sunday, July 13, on Centre Court, you need to rewind a month — to the day after the heartbreak Sinner experienced in the Roland Garros final.
“I’ve always tried to be honest with myself, to talk to myself. I accepted it. If you lose a Grand Slam final like that, it’s way better than getting crushed. I told myself: just keep pushing. If you lose like that, after playing five hours and winning more points than your opponent, it’s okay. If you get blown out and only win two games, it’s much worse, no? So after that, I kept going,” said the now four-time Grand Slam champion.
Un mes lo puede cambiar TODO.#Sinner #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/4JLLooMxqj
— ESPN Tenis (@ESPNtenis) July 13, 2025
Sinner’s coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, didn’t say a single word about the Paris defeat in the first 24 hours after the loss to Sinner. Then, they got to work.
“We spoke a little about his game, maybe about being a little braver in the big moments,” said Cahill.
“He faced the loss in Paris. He accepted it, and understood that he’d played an incredible match — and in the end, was beaten by the better player,” added the Australian.
“We told him how proud we were of what he did in Paris. We came here with the clear purpose of having a good tournament. His mental strength is really solid,” said Vagnozzi.
And the Italian coach added: “We’re lucky to work with a guy like this, who steps on court every day with the right mindset.”
