LAURA ROBSON joked that Wimbledon VIPs were “drunk enough” that they would not have minded the awkward 1am dance between the new singles champions.
It has been a long-held tradition that the two individual Championship conquerors at the prestigious grass-court tournament share the stage at the Champions’ Ball and have a little boogie.
The custom disappeared during the Covid years but has since returned – even if it is begrudgingly done by the multi-millionaire winners who are usually not very good at it either.
They might have decent footwork on the Centre Court turf but not when it comes to dancing.
Jannik Sinner, who beat Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 in the men’s final on Sunday, was interviewed on stage by Robson, 31, in a black suit and tie.
Yet before the Italian world No.1 could return to his table, Robson – the 2008 Wimbledon junior girls’ singles champion – called up Poland’s six-time Grand Slam champion.
Iga Swiatek, 24, had destroyed American Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in the women’s final on Saturday – the first whitewash at that stage of the competition for 114 years – and she had stayed in London until Monday.
Wearing a long silver gown and pearls, Swiatek happily came up to the stage for the ceremonial dance.
The room contained All England Club top brass and committee members as well as respected BBC broadcaster Annabel Croft, who finished fourth in the 2023 edition of Strictly Come Dancing.
Robson said: “Iga, if you would like to come on back up. You (Jannik) led me right into it.
“Now, no matter what you do, we are going to give it a ten out of ten.
“If Annabel is here with the Strictly cards, it’s a ten out of a ten.”
The pair engaged in a 20-second dance, albeit at a slow pace and with one twirl, to the soundtrack of “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man.
And as befits two introverted characters, who are not comfortable in the media spotlight, it was not exactly a rock ‘n’ roll routine.
Nonetheless, they received a warm reception from the audience at The OWO – Raffles London hotel – in Whitehall.
Robson said: “Fantastic. Look at the moves. A round of applause for both. We will let you both go.
“We said 10 out of 10, I think everyone in this room is drunk enough that it doesn’t even matter.
“So, it’s all good. Enjoy your champagne, guys. Enjoy the rest of the night. Congratulations.”
Sinner and Swiatek individually earned a record £3million for winning seven matches over the course of two weeks.
Yet their wins were mired in controversy given that the pair – Sinner (three months) and Swiatek (one month) – had served anti-doping bans since the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
Neither player had been accused of intentionally cheating or wrongdoing but the infringements that led to their suspension have been the subject of much discussion in the sport and beyond.
Sinner twice tested positive for prohibited substance clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March 2024.
He blamed it on a physio’s bare-handed massage – but was cleared of fault or negligence by an independent tribunal.
Between February 9 and May 4, he was suspended from the ATP Tour after an out-of-court agreement with world drug busters.
Swiatek, meanwhile, tested positive for prohibited substance Trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition anti-doping test.
She accepted a one-month suspension that was served in the off-season last year.
It was a result of taking contaminated melatonin tablets from Poland, which she had been using for jet lag and sleep issues.
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