Why Jannik Sinner had to give back Wimbledon trophy less than 30 minutes after winning
Jannik Sinner had to give back to his Wimbledon trophy minutes after winning it for a second time because of a competition rule.
Sinner became the tenth man in history to win Wimbledon back-to-back with a 7-6(7), 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 four set win over Alexander Zverev on Centre Court.
The Italian dropped to the floor after winning his fifth Grand Slam in exhausting fashion before the speech and official trophy presentation took place for him and losing finalist Zverev.
He said his win represented a "very, very special day" as he thanked fans for their incredible support.
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Sinner won the gold trophy last year when he beat Carlos Alcaraz at SW19 and it was back in his possession a year later.
However, the 24-year-old is only allowed limited time with the prize.
Sinner participated in his mandatory champion duties, being shown the updated honours list with his name on twice in the Centre Court tunnel by Debbie Jevans, the chair of the All England Club.
Upstairs, he engaged in conversations with royalty - speaking to Prince William, Princess Kate and children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.Why Wimbledon finalist Alexander Zverev is allowed to check his phone during matches
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With the BBC cameras following him, Sinner had pictures on the iconic balcony with the trophy and posed for snaps with his team.
That was until Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, took it back off the champ.
On commentary, Tim Henman had commented that Sinner had "done well to hold on to the trophy that long" but then just as he did, the former British number one added, "Sally Bolton the chief executive, there she goes. 'You've had enough of that!'".
Though he did have further photos in his suit with the trophy at the annual champions' dinner, BBC presenter Clare Balding confirmed that Sinner will "get the three-quarter-sized replica which will go home with him".
It was decided in the 1880s by the AELTC that the Wimbledon winner would not keep hold of the trophy.
Even winning the trophy in consecutive years does not guarantee that right, though the smaller replica does contain all the list of past winners.
How much prize money does Jannik Sinner earn for winning Wimbledon?
In addition to getting hands on the trophy - albeit for a limited period - Sinner also pockets a record amount of prize money for winning Wimbledon again.
The first time around, he received due £3 million for his victory over Alcaraz.
This time around, the total prize pot for the whole tournament was £64.2 million. A 20 per cent increase was confirmed - meaning Sinner collected £3.6 million - the same amount given to women's champion Noskova after she beat Karolina Muchova.
It is the highest figure champions at Wimbledon have ever received but further increases could be made in the future if players are successful in their push for a greater share of the estimated revenue.
Zverev, who won the French Open earlier this year, is due £1.8 million for coming second in the competition.
Topics: Jannik Sinner, Wimbledon
Josh Lawless