'It's great to win Wimbledon, now let's pop some champagne corks'
Party animal Niels Vink hinted that champagne corks could be popping long into the night after defeating fellow Dutchman Sam Schroder to seal his third successive Wimbledon quad singles title.
Vink dispatched Schroder 6-3 6-3 to seal his sixth Grand Slam singles title and equal Peter Norfolk and David Wagner in third place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam wins in quad singles.
World No.1 Vink is now one Grand Slam title behind the tally achieved by his opponent today, Schroder, and nine shy of Dylan Alcott, who dominated the quad division prior to his retirement after 2022 Australian Open.
More about Alcott later. For now, Vink was his usual engaging and erudite self during his post-match media duties and the 22-year-old would have stayed there for a whole while longer discussing all things wheelchair tennis.
However, at last year’s Wimbledon Vink revealed that he loved nothing more than making merry on top of a bar with a drink in one hand and a microphone in the other. Editorial responsibility is one thing, preventing the start of a jamboree is something else.
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“I have the champagne ready when I am finished here,” Vink told itftennis.com. “I am going to the Wimbledon terrace and there will be my family and coaches, and we are going to pop some champagne.
“We popped some champagne yesterday with Guy [Sasson, after winning the quad doubles title] but I did not have one sip because I had to play today. I am not going to say now much I will have today, but we will see.
“I don’t know what to say. This is the third time I have won Wimbledon in a row in singles and yesterday I won Wimbledon for the fourth time in a row in doubles.
“Wimbledon feels like home. If you look at everything, I cannot say one bad thing about Wimbledon and I think that says it all about how beautiful it is. I am already looking forward to coming back next year, but first I am going to celebrate.”
Wimbledon is Vink’s second Grand Slam singles title of the season after he also lifted silverware at the Australian Open, while he is rapidly closing in on Alcott’s all-time record of 15 Grand Slam quad singles titles.
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While it must be acknowledged that Alcott did not have the luxury of playing at Wimbledon too often – the quad draw was only added to the Wheelchair Championships’ roster in 2019 – Vink is nevertheless making ground.
“Of course, Dylan is amazing, and 15 Grand Slam singles title is incredible,” said Vink. “But six Grand Slam singles titles for me already, at the age of 22, is also incredible.
“I have already won six so maybe I can beat Dylan and that would be a big celebration. I have a funny story. At the Paralympic Games last year, I was celebrating my gold medal when he Facetimed me to pass on his congratulations.
“He said, ‘you can do what you want, win however much you want, hold as many records as you like, but you never beat me’. That's true, I never did."
Banter aside, Vink is most certainly in with a shout of being the most decorated quad player the world has ever seen.
A full list of results from the 2025 Wimbledon Wheelchair Championships can be accessed here