Elena Rybakina fights back against Ons Jabeur to seal Wimbledon title
Russia-born Elena Rybakina became Kazakhstan’s maiden grand slam champion after defeating Ons Jabeur to claim the Wimbledon title.
In the first women’s singles final at the All England Club between two new slam finalists for 60 years, the 23-year-old came from a set down to claim a 3-6 6-2 6-2 victory.
Rybakina has shown with her exceptional ball striking and calm temperament that she is a deserving major champion, but she has found herself caught in a storm not of her own making.
When Wimbledon organisers decided to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes following the invasion of Ukraine, it was partly to avoid the propaganda opportunities should British royalty end up presenting a player from one of those two countries with the trophy.
It was more than a little uncomfortable, therefore, that the Duchess of Cambridge did indeed give the Venus Rosewater Dish to a player born, raised and reportedly still a resident in Russia, but who switched to representing Kazakhstan for financial reasons four years ago.
Russian media have been celebrating Rybakina’s success and the outcome shows the difficulty of implementing such a policy in an individual and very international sport.
