Because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, players from Russia and Belarus were excluded from Wimbledon. The debate that top players like Daniil Medvedev were missing and that the ATP and WTA organizations did not award world ranking points as a reaction, dominated the headlines for a long time before the tournament. The fact that a player from Moscow of all people won the women’s final gave the tournament a political note at the end.
Rybakina has represented Kazakhstan since 2018. “Wimbledon ended with exactly the picture that it had tried so desperately to prevent,” wrote the British “Telegraph” and outlined the moment when Duchess Kate presented the Venus Rosewater Dish as a trophy to the 23-year-old. “This women’s final produced a photo opportunity that had everyone at the Russian Embassy in London roaring over their vodka glasses.”
First Grand Slam title for Rybakina
Jelena Rybakina has been crowned Wimbledon champion. The Kazakh prevailed in the final after falling behind the Tunisian Ons Jabeur and won her first Grand Slam title.
“I don’t know how to answer these questions”
After her three-set final win against Tunisian Ons Jabeur, Rybakina was repeatedly asked whether she condemned Russia’s war of aggression and Putin’s actions. “People believed in me. Kazakhstan supported me so much. Also today there was so much support, I saw the flags,” she answered evasively. “I don’t know how to answer these questions.”
When asked about the war earlier in the tournament, she said she wanted it to end as soon as possible. During the tournament, Ukrainian players like Lessia Zurenko gave emotional accounts of their worries about their families back home.
Change of nations long before the war
Like several other top players, Rybakina had changed nations long before the war, partly because of the prospect of more support. She hugged the President of the Kazakh Tennis Association, Bulat Utemuratov, in the stands. The head of state of the Central Asian country, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, congratulated from a distance on a “historic victory” and the first Grand Slam singles title for Kazakhstan.
Rybakina quickly received congratulations for her victory from Russia as well. “We have contributed a lot to their development,” Shamil Tarpishchev, head of the Russian Tennis Union, told the Russian newspaper “Sport-Express”. “Is there any grudge against you? no This is sports. Everyone chooses their own path. That is their right.”
She is “grateful” to Kazakhstan for everything, Rybakina said. “I’ve been playing for Kazakhstan for a very, very long time. I represent it at big tournaments, at the Olympics, when a dream came true,” she said. When asked if she feared her win in Russia could be used politically, the Wimbledon champion replied: “I don’t know what’s going to happen. There will always be some news, but I can’t do anything about it.”
