Wimbledon 2026: All heart from Dimitrov

'I had lots of flashbacks, it was just a very uncomfortable feeling'

The 35-year-old Bulgarian was in what can best be described as a flow state at the All England Club last year, leading eventual champion Jannik Sinner by two sets to love and playing some breathtaking tennis that once carried him to the No.3 spot in the world.

But disaster struck halfway through the third set as he tore his pectoral muscle after hitting a serve, and just like that, the match came to a premature end and a rehabilitation journey began.

No stranger to injury, Dimitrov knows what it takes to overcome a physical issue, but the mental battle these past 12 months was far greater than any physical pain he had endured.

“I was frightened of the thought of having to come back on the court again and start hitting," Dimitrov told reporters ahead of his Wimbledon opener.

"I'm not going to lie, my first hits, even practices were extremely difficult for me mentally to not only swing through, but I had lots of flashbacks, and it was just a very, very uncomfortable feeling. But I knew I had to work a lot on it, and I think not a mistake, but something that I think I could have done a little bit better is I didn't give myself the chance to process what happened, and it hit me later, months later.”

Dimitrov recalls crying for two hours after that match against Sinner before he went straight to the hospital and began the rehab process.

That wasn’t enough time to fully comprehend what had happened.

“All of a sudden, you start tossing the ball, and I had the flashback. I was like, 'Oh, if I hit it hard...' It's just very weird inner chatter that I think was not healthy enough. It lingered for a while and I think it truly bothered me,” he added.

Dimitrov came back to the tour late October, nearly four months after that fateful day at Wimbledon, and could only play two matches before his season was over.

This year, he suffered opening-round exits in nine of 11 tournaments before the grass season kicked off.

With his ranking down to 146 in the world, Dimitrov needed a wildcard to enter the Wimbledon main draw – an opportunity he did not take lightly.

His first-round triumph over Australian Dane Sweeny in straight sets was understandably emotional, given everything that had transpired in the previous year.

His 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win against No.15 seed and recent Roland-Garros semi-finalist Jakub Mensik in the second round on the No.1 Court on Thursday was all heart.

“I think when I say I've suffered through my career with minor injuries, big injury, what happened last year and all that, why am I here if I'm not putting everything on the line again?” he said after the match.

“If I don't have that, then there's not going to be a point for me to be competing anymore sort of on the biggest stage of our sport, here at Wimbledon.”

'All I wanted to do is come out and fight'

Dimitrov had to take a moment to collect himself during his on-court interview, overwhelmed by how he scaled so many invisible heights to get back to this point, and by the support he was getting from the No.1 Court crowd.

“I honestly don't have much to say other than I'm so happy to be back and just play tennis in front of you guys. That's it. I'm very emotional. I'm overwhelmed a little bit,” he said.

“Of course, the first match was very…” his voice trailing off for a second, fighting back tears.

“It's just a great match today. All I wanted to do is come out and fight. That was my goal. I didn't think about winning or losing, I didn't even think about my body to that extent.

“Of course, you guys helped me a lot. The atmosphere was just spectacular as always. I feel so loved, so supported anywhere in the world and every time coming to Wimbledon, it's extra special for me and I really want you guys to know that.”

Dimitrov admits it felt like déjà vu when the roof closed during the match, and he worriedly looked up to his team and said, “just like last year”.

“I mean I got broken in the first game of the fourth set, so that was not a great start. But listen, of course, I looked up I think four or five times I was hoping I'm gonna finish the match before the roof was about to close again,” he confessed.

“And it was almost like déjà vu but I all you can do is just smile. What happened in the past it stays there and then embrace what comes next, whether it's good or bad and today was all about that.”

Dimitrov survived 31 aces from Mensik and struck 39 winners and committed 32 unforced errors on his way to a highly-anticipated third-round meeting with 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini – a player who himself has had his fair share of injury woes.  

“If nothing else it’s gonna be a pretty match,” joked Dimitrov on court.

He later explained the perspective that is shaping his approach to tennis at the moment.

“I'm looking to squeeze other things of myself right now. That's why I'm saying it in the nicest way possible. I'm just running my own race,” said Dimitrov, who added David Nalbandian to his coaching team earlier this year.

“I want to improve on the things I feel like I can improve, things that I've maybe neglected, things that I'm maybe not on it enough throughout my career, or even in the past year.

“That's why I also have a lot of people around me to really remind me of those fundamentals. Right now I'm just focusing on that more so than the game itself.”

Dimitrov says Nalbandian, who was a fierce competitor during his playing days, has “ignited” parts of his mind that have been somewhat dormant, and he’s also been enjoying the FIFA World Cup, drawing inspiration from some of the competition’s storylines.

“I think I've had a great example of some matches I've watched in the past days where you could definitely see the emotion, enthusiasm. I was getting very inspired by that. I mean, I love sports. Anything that has a great story, a great heart, I'm in,” he said.