Yelena Rybakina is her country’s first Grand Slam winner. © ANSA / NEIL HALL
Jelena Rybakina won the Wimbledon final against world number two Ons Jabeur. The 23-year-old wrote tennis history: she was the first professional tennis player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam title.
July 09, 2022
From: tas
Jelena Rybakina clenched her fist, blew briefly and celebrated her Wimbledon triumph without much emotion at first. Even when the first Kazakh Grand Slam tournament winner received the Venus Rosewater Dish as a trophy from Duchess Kate, the 23-year-old seemed overwhelmed by her unexpected premiere success.
“I’m speechless, I was super nervous before the game and during the game,” Rybakina said. “I’m glad it’s over, I’ve never felt anything like this before. She turned the final on Saturday against Ons Jabeur from Tunisia, second in the world rankings, 3: 6, 6: 2, 6: 2 and was able to celebrate the greatest success of her career.
Tennis history will be written in the final
Jabeur, who defeated Tatjana Maria in the semifinals, initially dominated the game. Rybakina fought back with her powerful game in front of celebrities like actor Tom Cruise. The native Russian, who changed her nationality in 2018, will receive two million British pounds (equivalent to 2.36 million euros) for her triumph.
Jabeur gets £1.05million missing out on Arab and African player’s first Grand Slam title “I’m glad that I’ve inspired so many generations from my country,” said the 27-year-old, who has repeatedly emphasized that she plays for all Arab and African players. “You are an inspiration not only for juniors, but for everyone,” Rybakina enthused about her opponent. “You have an amazing game, I enjoy playing you so much.”
Ons Jabeur had an excellent start but then dropped significantly. © APA / afp / SEBASTIEN BOZON
Because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, professionals from Russia and Belarus were excluded from Wimbledon. Moscow-born Rybakina had said several times during the tournament that she was happy to represent Kazakhstan. “You believed in me. There’s no longer a question of how I feel. I’ve been on a journey as a Kazakh player for a long time.” Asked about the war, she said she wanted it “to be over as soon as possible”. After her victory, she thanked the Kazakh association president for the trust.
Before the final, she avoided questions about where she lived in Moscow. Due to her many trips as a professional athlete, she is actually at home on the tour. “I spend most of my time on tour. I train between tournaments in Slovakia and have camps in Dubai. So I don’t live anywhere to be honest.”
A hard fought Wimbledon final
It quickly became clear that it would be a completely different game for Jabeur than in the semifinals against Maria, which had been characterized by finesse and many backspin duels on both sides. As usual, Rybakina relied on her powerful serve and powerful groundstrokes. In contrast to the impressive semi-final win over former winner Simona Halep of Romania, she showed nerves and struggled to cope with her opponent’s slice. After a backhand error by the Kazakhs, Jabeur got the first break to make it 2-1 and jumped for joy.
Rybakina stayed close in a hard-fought game, but wasn’t able to put enough pressure on her opponent when Jabeur served. The Tunisian used her first set ball for the second break after just 32 minutes and the deserved 6:3.
Rybakina scored with the serve and with her hard groundstrokes. © APA / afp / SEBASTIEN BOZON
Rybakina was initially unimpressed and took the service from her opponent for the first time with the first chance. Jabeur still had fun, headed a ball after the point, returning a lob running back through the legs. But rhythm, concentration and a little later the second set were gone. Also in the decisive round, Rybakina had fewer problems with her opponent’s drop shots than at the beginning and immediately got the break. Jabeur became increasingly desperate and missed three break points when the score was 2:3. Instead, she gave up her own serve again and allowed one error on Rybakina’s first match point.
