Kate, the Princess of Wales, made a poised return to Wimbledon on Sunday, joining Prince William and two of their children in the Royal Box to watch the men’s final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
As patron of the All England Club, the princess had the honor of presenting the winner’s trophy to Sinner, who defeated Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court.
Her appearance marked another step in her gradual return to public life following cancer treatment.
It was her second consecutive day at the tournament. On Saturday, she awarded the women’s singles trophy to Iga Swiatek after a commanding 6-0, 6-0 victory and offered kind words to runner-up Amanda Anisimova.
Sunday’s finale drew a royal and star-studded crowd, with King Felipe VI of Spain, former Wimbledon champions and a host of Hollywood celebrities joining the British royals for the occasion.
Actors Keira Knightley, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman and John Lithgow were all seated in the Royal Box, as was London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
William and Kate arrived at the All England Club with their oldest son, Prince George, and daughter, Princess Charlotte. Before the men’s final, they spent time chatting with Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, who on Saturday became the first all-British duo in 89 years to win the men’s doubles title at Wimbledon.
After the trophy presentation, Sinner had a lengthy conversation with the royals in a room inside the tournament’s main stadium.
Kate called his victory “seriously inspiring and impressive” after introducing the Italian star to her children.
“Do you also play some tennis?” Sinner, still holding the golden trophy, asked George and Charlotte.
“Yeah,” the 11-year-old George replied.
Sinner later signed tennis balls for both children.
In his post-match news conference, Sinner said, “It was a very nice moment.”
“I believe for us tennis players, it’s so nice to have them watching us because it makes it even more special,” Sinner said. “You see how much they care about tennis and the sport itself. It’s very, very prestigious.”
Last year, while recovering from cancer, Kate did not attend the women’s final but was present for Alcaraz’s win over Novak Djokovic in the men’s final at the All England Club.
Earlier this week, she also welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron during a state visit to Britain.
