Wimbledon star's dad fights back tears in stands after emotional gesture

Sem Verbeek's dad fought back tears in the Centre Court stands after his son won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title then led a chorus of song in his honour. The Dutchman teamed with Czech Katerina Siniakova for their first tournament together and went all the way to the final, beating the Britain-Brazil pair of Joe Salisbury and Luisa Stefani 7-6(3), 7-3(3) on SW19's main showcourt.

Verbeek's triumph was the first Grand Slam and only the third doubles title of his career. And it came on the same date as his father Frank's birthday. Frank Verbeek was in the crowd to witness his 31-year-old son's finest moment and was visibly moved as Sem conducted the fans to sing a lovely rendition of 'Happy Birthday!'

He said: "I know he's going to hate this but I'm going to love it. It's my dad's birthday today!" The Centre Crowd greeted the news with a cheer before Verbeek Jr added: "Happy birthday, this one is for all of you.

"His name is Frank. If we could all sing happy birthday to him, it would mean so, so much. Ok ready? Three, two, one..." The crowd then joined in on the song as the BBC cameras showed Verbeek Sr fighting against tears.

Siniakova is a 10-time women's doubles Grand Slam champion having won the event three times at Wimbledon in 2018, 2022 and 2024 - twice alongside the 2024 women's singles champion and fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova.

And Verbeek said during the trophy ceremony: "It's been an honour and a pleasure to compete next to such a great doubles legend, one of the best to ever do it. Thank you for making this a Thursday that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Siniakova, who won gold alongside Tomas Machac at the Paris Olympics last year, added: "It's very special. It means a lot. We had a lot of fun on the court. I really enjoyed it. Thank you for playing with me, Sem. It was really an amazing time here.

"To be back on the Centre Court with this atmosphere, it's always amazing. I'm just really happy I could be here again."

Wimbledon remains the only title Salisbury has not won, having also lost the 2021 mixed doubles final at the Championships alongside fellow Brit Harriet Dart.

The six-time doubles Grand Slam champion said: "Obviously it's always tough to lose a final, especially one as close as that. Sam and Katrina played amazing so congratulations to them.

"They were too good for us in the tie-breaks today but I've got to say a big thank you to Louisa, she's been amazing. Thank you for texting me two days before the sign in to ask to play with me - it's been an absolute pleasure to play with you all week and hopefully we can again."

Stefani reacted: "Thanks everyone for the great atmosphere first of all, it's my first time on Centre Court so it's been a huge honour, especially playing with Joe this whole week, it's been a lot of fun."