LONDON (AP) — Kate, the Princess of Wales, returned to Wimbledon on Sunday along with her husband Prince William and two of their children to watch the men's final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Kate is the patron of the All England Club and presented the winner's trophy to Sinner after he beat Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court. The princess has been gradually resuming her public duties following cancer treatment and was at Wimbledon for a second straight day. On Saturday, she attended the women's final and gave champion Iga Swiatek her prize after a 6-0, 6-0 victory and offered consoling words to runner-up Amanda Anisimova.
On Sunday the British royals were joined by King Felipe VI of Spain, a number of former Wimbledon champions and a slew of Hollywood celebrities.
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 together with their oldest son, Prince George, and daughter Princess Charlotte. Before the men's final, they spent some 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 talk with the royals in a room inside the tournament’s main stadium.
Kate called his victory “seriously inspiring and impressive” after introducing the Italian 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 on hand for Alcaraz's win against Novak Djokovic at the All England Club.
This week she also welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron during a state visit to Britain.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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