If Wimbledon did not want Russian and Belarusian tennis players on its courts, it has not been able to prevent a tennis player born in Moscow, Elena Rybakinaregister your name, yes, under the flag of Kazakhstan, a country that welcomed it four years ago, even though Putin’s invasion of Ukraine had not taken place. Rybakina was imposed this Saturday by 3-6, 6-2 and 6-2 to the Tunisian Ons Jabeurin 1 hour and 50 minutes.
The British tournament has also crowned a first-time champion in a Grand Slam final, after the Czech Barbora Krejcikova, who won Roland Garros, and the British Emma Raducano, at the US Open, both in 2020.
The moment Elena Rybakina became a Wimbledon champion ​?​ #Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/gVCU9oqxx5
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2022
Comeback victory
The Kazakh tennis player came back from a set against Jabeur, who seemed to be on the verge of victory. The Tunisian tennis player, 28 years old and 3 in the world, shrank before the power of blows from Rybakina, braver in his game. The anxiety and the pressure of being able to become the first African tennis player to win a Grand Slam led her to a tough defeat, in which she could not let go of the tears at the end of the match.
“I’m happy it’s over. I have never felt anything like this. I didn’t expect to get to the second week of Wimbledon,” she said on court, where she was seen smiling for the first time and celebrating with her family.
“I’ve never felt something like this”
Believe it, Elena – you’re a Wimbledon champion ?#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/2p4wPqwxLr
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2022
Rybakina23 years old and 23 world, he would not have been in the final if he had not accepted Kazakh citizenship. “Now I play for Kazakhstan, I am happy to represent this country that believed in me & rdquor ;, he said. The tennis player, who has all her family living in Russia, was elusive when asked if she supported the war. “Sorry but no I understand you, my English is not good,” he settled.
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Rybakina represented Russia at the junior level, with a presence in the Grand Slams, and also in its beginnings in the professional circuit of the WTA and ITF, until in mid-2018, when it was already in the top 200, it changed its flag in exchange for financial support and to represent that country in sports.
It is a common practice in that country bordering Russia, which also nationalized Mikhail Kukushkin, Alexander Bublik Y Yulia Putintseva among other internationally known tennis players. Wimbledon is his third career title after Bucharest (2019) and Hobart (2020). The Kazakh tennis player, 23 in the world, had only won one match on grass in her previous preparation tournaments.