LONDON — Having a short memory is the success to any tennis player’s path forward.
When Grigor Dimitrov retired against Jannik Sinner at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, he was two sets up against the world number one. Sinner had been on an unchallenged streak on the grass court until he was faced with Dimitrov’s captivating performance of hitting aces and winning points.
In the third set, however, Dimitrov injured his right pectoral muscle, forcing him to retire from the match.
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The emotional moment touched many hearts as Dimitrov shook the umpire’s hand following his exit, which was turned into a mural at the Aldersbrook Lawn Tennis Club in east London earlier this month.
“Ever since I walked off the court, I let myself not think about what happened because it was a tough moment. It was a physically painful moment, but that doesn’t really bother me, it’s more of the mental aspect of things that really kicked in for me, it was just so surreal,” said the Bulgarian tennis player in a candid interview.
“The one thing that I remember is as soon as it happened, I went into the locker room and cried straight up for a couple of hours and then my mind just completely changed right after. I got up, I showered and I was already thinking about focusing on the rehab.”
This has been the first time in Dimitrov’s 18-year career that he’s been able to step back from tennis and reflect. He’s been spending time at home in Monaco with his friends and girlfriend, the actress Eiza González, cooking, riding motorcycles, running and swimming.
“At some point actually, I was way busier than when I’m playing tennis, so that was very odd. I’m finding a good balance for now and I’m not really stressing too much,” he explained.
That doesn’t mean Dimitrov hasn’t stopped thinking or dreaming about getting back on the court though.
“There’s always something that keeps pulling me back into it and I’m always trying to stay in shape and pushing myself to do the best that I can. The rehab is taking longer than what we actually thought, but at the same time, I’m in no rush to try to come back at the moment,” he said.
He will be skipping this year’s U.S. Open, one of the final Grand Slams of the year, taking place in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., through Sept. 7.
Dimitrov admits that it “stings” not to be playing in the tournament and that skipping a Grand Slam is “one of the worst things as a player,” yet he’s still optimistic about the future and the possibilities ahead.
The handsome 6-foot-3-inch player is a stylish personality on the tennis circuit. He’s been an ambassador for Lacoste since 2023 and is never caught in a run-of-the-mill kit on or off court. He has a tendency to veer toward color, especially pink. At the 2025 French Open, he wore a navy polo with a splattered pink print to emulate the red clay from the tournament, while at the 2025 Madrid Open he opted for a pink polo with blocks of navy and white. He also worked in pink details at the 2025 Indian Wells Open and adopted a full baby pink polo at the 2024 Rolex Paris Masters.
On close inspection, there are personal touches to his on-court look. At the 2025 Miami Open, he carried a custom Lacoste duffel bag inspired by the three colors of Bulgaria’s flag.
“The encore look has always been very important for me since I could actually remember myself playing. I’ve always wanted to have different outfits and I like putting effort into that because we’re alone on the court and it’s important to feel good and comfortable out there,” Dimitrov said, adding that he’s very vocal about his taste.
“When you play tennis at such a high level, the small things make a huge difference,” he contends.
His relationship with Lacoste has only been a motivational boost.
“They really believed in me at a time when I was not doing so well. They stepped up and said, ‘Listen, we believe in you. We’d really like to have you.’ What helped me was being able to come back to the top 10 [in ATP ranking in 2024]. That was my way of saying thank you for believing in me,” Dimitrov said.
He’s also a brand partner and ambassador for the watch brand Bianchet where he’s involved in the Swiss luxury watchmaking brand’s design and development.
“I’m a little bit tough at times in business because I always believe in [making everything] better. [Joining Bianchet] was a challenge that I really wanted to take on, and I’ve been able to navigate that the best that I can. There’s so many things I want to do outside of sports,” said the 34-year-old.
Naturally as a tennis player, he’s always had a knack for going for gold. He’s often wearing a few Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra bracelets and has a selection of necklace pendants from FoundRae.
“I was one of the first ones to really wear it, [even when people would say] ‘This is for girls.’ For me it doesn’t matter, it looks cool and I want to take credit for starting the trend a little bit,” Dimitrov said half-jokingly.