Moscow-born Kazakh Elena Rybakina masterfully recovered from Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur to win her first Grand Slam at Wimbledon.
The Kazakh born in Moscow, Elena Rybakinawon his first Wimbledon against the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (3-6, 6-2 and 6-2), in an edition vetoed to Russians and Belarusians.
The organization, however, left the door open so that those who were born in those countries, but competed under the flag of another country, could play. This is the case of Rybakina, born in 1999 in Moscow, but who took refuge in Kazakhstan in 2018 when she needed financial support to take the final step to professionalism.
He had to choose between going to the United States to study, with the support of scholarships, or taking refuge in the Kazakh flag and four years after that decision, gave Kazakhstan its first Grand Slam at Wimbledon.
Rybakina was crowned the youngest champion in eleven years at the All England Club and broke the story of overcoming Jabeur, who was opting to become the first Arab to win a Grand Slam and the second African, after the South African Johan Kriek won the Australian Open in 1981.
But the pressure brought down the Tunisian, who fell under the weight of her own history. She made a practically perfect first set, which was also helped by a Rybakina who made 17 unforced errors, but after that 6-3 that left her one step away from the title, she left.
With the entire crowd expecting a fast-track win from a player with ten wins in a row on grass and the status of number two in the world, Rybakina’s winner hit cannon started working.
Proud.#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/F1aqAQBE2U
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2022
The best server on the circuit gave her first blow with a break in the first game of the second set and, with that dose of confidence, she was unstoppable. It was believed that she could make party and Jabeur became anxious.
The games began to go away in a matter of seconds, he was unable to read Elena Rybakina’s serve and, above all, to break it. She had seven break points in the last two sets and did not take any of them. He finished her 0-40 which she squandered to level the third quarter at three games.
The Kazakh overwhelmed him with 22 winners in the second and third sets and was undaunted by Jabeur’s attempt to dirty the match. The Tunisian, more nervous than ever in the tournament, began a carousel of complaints and belated hawk-eye requests that did not mislead Rybakina.
A run of three games in a row and a first match point taken advantage of ended Jabeur’s Wimbledon and crowned the Kazakh.
Rybakina, the tennis player with the most winning shots in the tournament and the best server, by numbers on the circuit, ended a streak of four lost finals and became the youngest champion, at 23, since Petra Kvitova in 2011. It is the third title of his career, after Bucharest 2019 and Hobart 2020.
His passivity in the face of victory was surprising, with a simple smile and a greeting to the public, while Jabeur, incredulous at his level when he was on the verge of victory, melted on his bench.
Wimbledon, in the edition that decided to close the door to the Russians, ran into a champion born in Moscow.
Elena Rybakina rises to the occasion ✨
In its centenary year, Centre Court crowns a new Ladies’ Singles champion#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/Wabfr0GTdS
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2022