Status: 09.07.2022 4:57 p.m
Elena Rybakina became the first Kazakh to win Wimbledon. Born in Russia, she won the final against Ons Jabeur from Tunisia.
Jelena Rybakina put Kazakhstan on the tennis map with her Wimbledon triumph. After a nervous start in the final of the most important tournament in the world, the native of Russia triumphed over the Tunisian Ons Jabeur on Saturday (09.07.2022) and thus won the first Grand Slam title for the nation, for which she has been serving since 2018. After 1:47 hours, Rybakina converted her first match point to 3:6, 6:2, 6:2.
Jabeur missed the coronation two days after her semi-final victory over the German Wimbledon surprise Tatjana Maria. The second in the world rankings had started strongly, but lost her serve and then her line at the beginning of the second set. As against Maria, the 27-year-old seemed too playful at times, while Rybakina was surprisingly cool.
No frills tennis
She reacted to her opponent’s variation with no-frills tennis, just as no-frills as she had answered questions about her origins. Rybakina is from Moscow, her parents live there. The ban on the Russian and Belarusian pros at Wimbledon because of the attack on Ukraine was one of the big issues at the tournament.
“I’ve played for Kazakhstan for a long time, I’m happy to represent Kazakhstan,” Rybakina said. You’ve already done that at the Olympics and in the Fed Cup. And now also in the Wimbledon final, which initially did not go according to their ideas. She gave up her serve twice in the first set, according to Wimbledon record champion Martina Navratilova “currently the greatest weapon in women’s tennis”.
Heavy load
Jabeur, on the other hand, achieved a lot, but by no means everything. The burden she had taken on herself was pressing down on her shoulders more and more by the minute. “I’m not just playing for myself,” she said. “I’m playing for my country, for the Arab world, for the African continent.” Jabeur broke out again and again on Center Court, Rybakina showed no emotions.
tournament of your life
The 23-year-old, who is only playing Wimbledon for the second time in her career, has long been viewed as a great promise on the tennis circuit, but the pandemic had slowed her rise somewhat. In 2021 she reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon and the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time at Roland Garros. That year she played the tournament of her life on Church Road in south-west London.
Her draw was a tough one: Among other things, Rybakina beat two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Coco Vandeweghe, former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu and in the semifinals Simona Halep – Wimbledon winner from 2019. In addition to the strong serves and powerful basic strokes, there is a remarkable one added nerves. She fended off nine breakballs against Jabeur – three of them in the middle of the third set before she made the preliminary decision to make it 5: 2.
Source: sportschau.de