'Paris Nightmare' Followed by Hellish Training... How the World No. 1 Overcame a Shocking Defeat: Yannick Sinner's 'Wimbledon Back-to-Back Titles'

*This content was translated by AI.

World No. 1 in men's tennis, Yannick Sinner of Italy, has successfully won back-to-back Wimbledon titles.

On the 13th (Korean time), Sinner defeated Germany's Alexander Zverev 3-1 (6-7<7-9>, 7-6<7-2>, 6-3, 6-4) in the men's singles final of the 2026 Wimbledon Tennis Championships held at the All England Club in London, UK.

Sinner, who became the first Italian player to reach the top of the Wimbledon singles title last year, lifted the championship trophy again this year, successfully defending his title. He became the 10th player in the Open era to achieve back-to-back men's singles titles at Wimbledon, and increased his career major championship wins to five. As a prize for the victory, he received £3.6 million (approximately 7250 million won).

With 'rival' Carlos Alcaraz of Spain absent due to a wrist injury, Sinner also reached the summit through a process that was not entirely smooth.

Sinner lost only three times across all tournaments this season. He maintained an overwhelming upward trend, winning all five Masters events held before this Wimbledon. However, two of those three defeats came at the first two major tournaments of the year: the Australian Open and the French Open. This explains why, despite showing excellent performance throughout the season, his last major victory dated back to last year's Wimbledon.

In particular, the defeat suffered at the French Open in May was particularly painful. At that time, Sinner struggled with poor physical condition and severe energy depletion amidst Paris's heat. In the second round of the tournament, he took two sets first and led 5-1 in games in the third set, but ultimately lost 2-3 to Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina, ranked 56th.

With Sinner, a strong favorite for the title, packing his bags early, a major shock occurred at the French Open. Coincidentally, it was Zverev who lifted his first-ever major championship trophy at that same tournament where Sinner fell short.

It was also a mentally difficult time for Sinner. He did not participate in any grass-court warm-up tournaments ahead of Wimbledon. Instead, after checking his physical condition, he underwent high-intensity training for an extended period at Monaco, including hardcourt sessions. Sinner entered Wimbledon without having played a single official grass-court match and faced a crisis from the first round. He engaged in a full-set battle with Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia and even injured his toenail during the match, causing it to bleed.

However, after overcoming the initial hurdle, Sinner regained his original form as the matches progressed. Having recovered his confidence, he completely defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the semifinals and then subdued Zverev, the French Open champion, in the final.

After winning, Sinner said, "This victory means a lot to me because I went through a difficult time after being eliminated in Paris." He added, "It wasn't easy last year either. But coming here, I tried to put myself in the best possible position to be as competitive as possible," reflecting on his journey.

He continued, "I trained for many days in Monaco, and the training sessions were very long. I sacrificed my time and much else to reach this spot. Achieving this result means a lot to me. Today was truly an amazing day."

He further emphasized, "When I wake up on Sunday morning, I feel nervous because of the fact that today is such a special day. No one knows how many times I can return to a stage like this. That's why I don't take anything for granted."

He also did not forget to express respect for his opponent, Zverev. Sinner stated, "A match is only complete when there are two players. We tried to show everything we have." He added, "I am truly happy to win, but above all, I am very satisfied with the level of play we showed."

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*This content was translated by AI.