William and Kate to attend Wimbledon men's final
Kate, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, received a standing ovation when she arrived on Centre Court on Saturday to watch the women's singles final.
The princess told runner-up Amanda Anisimova to keep her 'head high' after the American suffered a heavy defeat in Saturday's final.
Kate consoled Anisimova, who was in tears, as she presented her runner-up prize.
The princess then presented the trophy to Polish player Iga Swiatek, who won the title for the first time by beating Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in a final which lasted only 57 minutes.
Speaking after the match about meeting Kate, Anisimova said: 'It was such an honour to meet her.
'She definitely had a few things to say that were making me emotional again.
'She was really kind and she told me to keep my head high.'
Swiatek said receiving the trophy from the princess was 'surreal', adding that Kate told her 'some nice stuff about the performance' on Centre Court.
The Wimbledon champion added: 'Since I was a kid, I'm a big fan of the royal family so it was amazing and I really appreciated that.
'And I'm really grateful that it was her royal highness giving the trophy.'
Last year, Kate presented the Wimbledon men's final trophy to Alcaraz in her second public engagement since she announced her cancer diagnosis.
The Princess of Wales's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, were seen in the royal box on Monday, with the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Gloucester also in attendance.
Ahead of the women's final, the princess – wearing a white belted jacket and pleated skirt – met eight-year-old Lydia Lowe, who performed the coin toss at the women's wheelchair final.
After shaking her hand, the princess asked the eight-year-old whether she was 'nervous' about tossing the coin, adding: 'Have you got any advice for me, because I've got to go out.'
Lydia, who suffered a brain injury in January 2024, leaving her visually impaired and having to relearn to walk, talk and eat, replied: 'Don't be nervous. Take deep breaths.'
The eight-year-old performed the coin toss while representing the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust, a charity supporting people with disabilities who play tennis by providing them with specialist equipment and grants.
The men's singles final on Sunday, with highs of 29C predicted, is unlikely to break the record of the warmest closing day at the tournament, which was 34.1C on July 3 1976.
The extreme heat during the 1976 tournament prompted organisers to allow umpires to remove their jackets.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Fox Sports football reporter who quit ESPN over Disney's Covid vaccine mandate gets huge NFL promotion
Allison Williams has landed herself a new role as an NFL sideline reporter at Fox Sports, as she prepares to replace one of their long-standing presenters. Williams will be looking to make further strides at the network which she joined in 2022, after her unceremonious exit from rival broadcasters ESPN a year prior. In 2021, Williams left ESPN after they refused to accommodate her decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine because she was trying to get pregnant. The Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN, mandated that all cast members need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 - however Williams was trying for a child and announced that she would not be getting it. She eventually left the network - where she worked on the sidelines at college football and basketball games - and swiftly joined Fox Sports. Since then, she has worked as a college football sideline reporter and studio host for Fox however, she is now set to make another step forward in her career. According to Front Office Sports, Williams will take on the role of NFL sideline reporter on one of the network's announce teams this season and replace the departing Laura Okmin. Okmin will bid farewell to the network after turning down a contract extension. She is the third-longest-tenured sideline reporter in NFL history. Okmin explained that it feels like the right time to walk away from her current role and focus on her company, GALvanize, which mentors young women in the sports world. Williams, meanwhile, looks to have settled at Fox Sports after her exit from ESPN four years ago. She was initially barred from working on the sidelines of college football games this season because she refused to comply with the network's vaccine mandate while she and her husband try for their second child. In an Instagram video shared at the time, a visibly emotional Williams said that her 'request for accommodation' had been denied, about a month after announcing she would be sitting the season out because she hadn't yet received the vaccination. 'Ultimately, I can not put a paycheck over principal and I will not sacrifice something I believe in strongly to maintain a career,' Williams said near-tears in the video. Shortly after that, she confirmed that she would be 'separating' from ESPN. 'Belief is a word I've been thinking about a lot lately, because in addition to the medical apprehensions regarding my desire to have another child in regards to receiving this injection, I am also so morally and ethically not aligned with this,' Williams said. 'And I've had to really dig deep and analyze my values and my morals, and ultimately I need to put them first.' 'And the irony in all this is that a lot of those same values and principals I hold so dear are what made me a really good employee and probably helped with the success that I've been able to have in my career.' Williams, who had been with the network since 2011, said she was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that the national championship game she covered in January, 2021, may now be the last college football game she will work.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Jannik Sinner v Carlos Alcaraz rivalry ‘great for tennis'
Jannik Sinner claimed his first Wimbledon title by defeating Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court, avenging his French Open final loss. Sinner's victory ended Alcaraz's 24-match winning streak and prevented him from securing a third consecutive Wimbledon title. Darren Cahill, Sinner's coach, believes the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz is already outstanding and has the potential to become even greater. The two players have shared the last seven Grand Slam trophies, with Sinner now holding four major titles to Alcaraz's five. Both Sinner and Alcaraz closely monitor each other's game, driving their respective teams to ensure continuous improvement, while other young talents are also emerging in men's tennis.
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Rory McIlroy adopts new tactic to Open preparations after "four hours sleep"
Masters champion Rory McIlroy didn't rest up for long after his near miss at the Scottish Open as he got out early for his practice round at Royal Portrush in Ireland Most would have fancied a few beers and a lie in after coming up just short on a searingly-hot day on the golf course. Most are not Rory McIlroy, obviously. The Northern Irishman finished two shots behind American Chris Gotterup at the Scottish Open on Sunday. But there was no time for sulking. Instead, it was straight to the airport for a flight to his homeland. McIlroy got into his hotel in Portrush at 1am but the alarm clock was set for not long after. The tee-time was booked for 7am for his first practice round at this week's venue for The Open on Monday morning. There was a method behind the madness for the Masters champion. The fact practice rounds were halted in the early afternoon briefly due to thunderstorms it made even more sense for the five-time Major winner to not to hit the snooze button. 'I got about four hours of sleep, so I'm looking forward to taking a nap after this,' McIlroy said as he met the media for the first time this week. 'The last couple of majors, at the PGA and the U.S. Open, the practice rounds take so long. 'I feel like there's 50 people inside the ropes all the time. I feel like I just can't get good work done, good preparation. 'I didn't come up here ahead of time to try to get a couple of practice rounds in, so I just wanted to get out early, sort of beat the rush, beat the crowd, and do my work with not a lot of people around. So that was the reason that I did that today. 'It worked out well. Obviously we had that weather delay there, and it was nice to get 18 holes in early and feel like I got a productive day of work in.' The round was McIlroy's first since the Friday here in 2019 when he missed the cut. That was a superb 65 but not enough to undo the damage of his opening day 79 and he missed the weekend by a stroke. So there may have also been an itch to get back here. 'I remember I was making a charge and making a run to try to make the cut, and I hit a 6-iron into the 14th, second shot, and I remember the roar from the crowd,' said McIlroy. "It was sort of getting a little dark and it was overcast, and for whatever reason, that's the one thing I remember is that shot and that roar of the crowd, and walking up to that green and getting a standing ovation. It was really special. 'I wish I had have been here for two more days to get a bit more of that and experience it. But hopefully I can change that this week.' McIlroy arrives looking to right the wrongs of six years ago and get his hands on The Claret Jug for the first time since 2014. The difference this time is he has completed the career Grand Slam having finally won the Masters back in April. Yet winning a Major on home soil at the place he set the course record as a 16-year-old prodigy would be something special for the iconic sportsman of this part of the world. "I think it would be just as emotional, if not more emotional than Augusta - and everyone saw the mess I was after that,' he said. "It would be absolutely incredible."
