At the Wimbledon 2025 Men’s Final on Sunday, 23-year-old Italian phenom Jannik Sinner beat two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain by three sets to one, winning his fourth Grand Slam title and becoming Italy’s first Wimbledon champion.
All week since, the lanky redhead’s triumph on the Center Court of the All-England Club has been front-page news and bar fodder for Italians.
“Italian Twitter” (now X) was on fire, too: Italy’s Serie A soccer clubs were some of the first to flood social media with congratulations on the world’s No. 1’s historic and decisive victory.
AC Milan, Inter, Juventus and AS Roma all sent congratulatory messages to Sinner. Former professional footballer GianLuigi Buffon, widely considered one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, wrote on X:
“Immense Jannik. Today, you wrote an unforgettable page in Italian sports history. You became a legend by winning Wimbledon with class, courage and the maturity of a true champion, against the great Alcaraz. Watching you play and win fills our hearts with joy. Keep making us proud, giant!”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also chimed in with a tribute, writing on X:
“Another page of history for Italian sport: Jannik Sinner triumphs at Wimbledon and makes an entire nation dream. Proud of you, champion!”
Meloni’s “making an entire nation dream” claim isn’t too far-fetched, considering an estimated four in 10 Italian TV viewers on Sunday night were tuned into Wimbledon. According to Ansa English, nearly six million viewers watched the final across various Sky Italia channels.
The “Sinner effect”
Not only are more Italians watching tennis than ever before, but many are getting inspired to pick up tennis rackets and head to the courts themselves.
Italian tennis is seeing a renaissance and Sinner’s immense success is a big part of that newfound enthusiasm for the sport. It doesn’t hurt that a total of 12 Italian singles players (men and women) are currently ranked inside the ATP top 100, including Jasmine Paolini (9), Lorenzo Musetti (7), Flavio Cobolli (19), Matteo Berrettini (36) and Lorenzo Sonego (40).
As I write this from my neighborhood bar di fiducia (go-to bar), the regulars are discussing Sinner’s ascent to greatness and how they think he should prepare for the final Grand Slam tournament of the season, the U.S. Open in New York next month.
