This year's Wimbledon final between eventual winner Jannik Sinner and his rival Carlos Alcaraz not only featured top-class tennis, but also a curious incident that briefly caused a stir in the stands. In the middle of the second set, when Sinner was concentrating on his serve, a champagne cork suddenly landed on the famous "Holy Lawn".
The incident occurred at the beginning of the second set. A soft bang was heard, followed by the impact of the cork. While Alcaraz threw his hands up in obvious annoyance, Sinner calmly picked up the unusual foreign object and handed it to a ball girl. There were loud boos from the stands for the unknown "cork popper". The referee was also annoyed and warned the spectators over the microphone: "Please don't open any champagne bottles when the players are serving."
Jannik Sinner, who ultimately won the match, took the incident with humor at the award ceremony. "That's also part of Wimbledon," he grinned, alluding to the special atmosphere of the tournament.
In fact, a flying champagne cork is not an isolated incident at Wimbledon. It is almost a bizarre tradition that a bottle of champagne is occasionally opened during matches and the cork disrupts the flow of play. This is partly due to the relaxed British picnic culture on the hills surrounding the courts and partly due to the sometimes exuberant atmosphere in the crowd. The players are not used to such interruptions, but the situation usually resolves itself quickly and they can concentrate again.
In the final between Sinner and Alcaraz, the brief annoyance after the short interruption quickly gave way to enthusiasm for the high-class tennis duel. In the end, Jannik Sinner clearly won the match and deservedly became the 2025 Wimbledon winner.
