Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina came from a set down to win her Wimbledon final against Ons Jabeur and claim her first grand slam title.

Ever since people would laugh at the nine-year-old who would speak loudly of her intention to win grand slams, everything she has achieved has been the result of a gradual evolution. There may be no ranking points on offer this year, Rybakina will fall to 23rd place even though under normal circumstances she would have risen to a new ranking of around sixth, but this is a priceless victory and she has made the step up. After Rybakina took the second set, the crowd continually tried to animate Jabeur and as she trailed 2-3, she responded, generating three break points at 0-40 with a wondrous lob. Rybakina swiftly began to play on her terms, bullying Jabeur from on top of the baseline, and the Tunisian became far too tight herself. As cries of “yalla” and “allez” rang out for Jabeur, the first Arab player and African woman to reach a grand slam singles final in the Open era, Jabeur was determined to disrupt Rybakina with her complex, varied game. Instead, the pandemic struck and upon the resumption of the tour Rybakina struggled to find her way.

Rybakina is a 23-year-old who was born in Moscow and has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered her funding to support her tennis ...

Now she was just a game away from the biggest victory of her career — and she got to serve for it. Jabeur appeared to give herself an opportunity to really change the course of things while down 3-2 in the third. She broke once more to begin the third, and went up 3-1. When another forehand went awry, Jabeur broke at love to take the opening set and threw an uppercut as she walked to the sideline. Rybakina is a 23-year-old who was born in Moscow and has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered her funding to support her tennis career. There were glimpses of both in the opening game, including a 119 mph service winner on the match’s initial point.

The celebration was subdued, hardly a spike in emotions. But the day Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur met on Centre Court will be remembered as a day of tennis ...

Her win over Jabeur was just her third against a top 20-ranked player on grass -- the second was against Simona Halep in the semifinals. But in those second and third sets -- form and logic went out the window, and Rybakina was at her best, just like she was when she dispatched Halep in the semifinals. Jabeur was the first Arab woman to reach a Slam final, and the first from Africa since pro players were admitted to the major tournaments in 1968. But Rybakina found her rhythm and range, and Jabeur had no answers, the roles reversed. I just want to wish Eid Mubarak to Muslims all around the world." "It was such a tough match mentally and physically, so in the end I was just super happy that it finished. As the presentation was being arranged, she stayed in her seat. Jabeur was the overwhelming crowd favorite. For the past two weeks she has picked her way through the draw, but the questions she faced were as much about her tournament run as they were heritage. But it was near the end of the news conference when they pushed through, after she was asked what that victory would mean for her parents. "You wanted to see emotion," she said, tears on her cheeks. As Ons Jabeur pushed the forehand wide, sealing Rybakina's first Grand Slam, she clenched her left fist in celebration in the direction of her box.

Elena Rybakina became the first player representing Kazakhstan to win the Wimbledon trophy after beating third-seeded Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in three sets ...

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Elena Rybakina won the women's singles final Wimbledon on Saturday, claiming her first grand slam title and the first for Kazakhstan.

And in a tight final set, it was the Kazakhstani who just got stronger and stronger, eventually claiming her first grand slam title with another emphatic service game. It took just a few games of the final for the first shock. However, despite looking rattled in the opening set, Rybakina began the second frame strongly. I don't have the words to say how happy I am." "But I wouldn't be here without my team of course, so I want to say a big thanks to them. Without my parents I wouldn't be here for sure.

Rybakina's victory at Wimbledon was deeply impressive but not the outcome that most in Centre Court or on the payrolls of the All England Club were yearning ...

The history, all those ghosts on the grass, can hit a player hard as they try to join the club. “It was good for my career,” said Shvedova of the switch. How do you convincingly paint Rybakina’s success as a bright and shiny tale of Russian triumph when it was Russia’s lack of support for her career that ultimately caused her to switch allegiances? She was already wearing her purple badge as a new member of the All England Club on Saturday night. “The Russians absolutely were questioning why, why, why. (Britain has had plenty of imports, including the former Canadian star Greg Rusedski and the former Australian Johanna Konta.) I saw the flags, so I don’t know how to answer these questions.” Thank God the Kazakhstan federation has been supporting her.” She is a Russian who was born, raised and, until this year, based in Moscow, where her parents and many of her closest friends still reside. Wimbledon, after all, has barred players who represent Russia, not players who used to represent Russia. And though Shamil Tarpischev, the longtime president of the Russian Tennis Federation, claimed “we have won Wimbledon” to a Russian state media outlet on Saturday night, that certainly rings hollow. The move came after pressure from the British government led by outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has had a much worse weekend than Jabeur has had. But Rybakina’s arrival comes at an awkward moment for those with Russian connections.

The 23-year-old is bringing her adopted country its first singles trophy at a major tournament.

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The 23-year-old Rybakina won her first major title at Wimbledon on Saturday.

“I think she’s one of the best from the young generation,” Jabeur said. And Ons, she was using the serve very well,” Rybakina said in her post-match news conference. “I didn't really think yet about the U.S. Open and the next tournaments,” Rybakina said. “I knew I have this big weapon, serve, but it didn’t work out for the whole first set. It was her first singles match since stopping in the first round last year because of injury. The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who is 40 and owns seven titles at the All England Club, lost in the first round.

Born in Russia but having moved to Kazakhstan who offered her support - lack of which drove her to change nationality - the 23-year-old is now a subject of ...

Djokovic, who can still gain ground in the rankings, has his participation in the American hardcourt swing and subsequent US Open in doubt due to his unvaccinated status, putting things further in his favour. At the age of 18, Rybakina was put in a difficult position with regard to her future. The 26-year-old Medvedev is a well-known hardcourt specialist. Thanks to that, Russian tennis can not only stake claim on the reigning women’s Wimbledon champion, but perhaps more legitimately, also the men’s World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. But the All England Club’s stance was solid, and with Russian commentators now taking credit for Rybakina’s triumph, their decision has effectively resulted in the very outcome they were trying to prevent. Yulia Putintseva, who has won 2 singles titles and has a career-high ranking of No.27 also switched allegiances. In the hours that followed Rybakina’s remarkable Wimbledon triumph, both Russians and Kazakhstanis jumped to take credit for her win. I saw the flags, so I don’t know how to answer these questions,” she said after the final. Qassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan’s President, tweeted: “Kazakhstani tennis player Elena Rybakina has won a historic victory in the most prestigious Wimbledon tournament. She played here with us for a long time,” after the win per AP. Russia Today, a state-controlled media outlet, led with the headline ‘Russian-born Rybakina triumphs at Wimbledon’ on their website. With Elena Rybakina’s breakthrough triumph on Saturday, things have not quite gone the way they would have liked. And now some Russians have announced Rybakina’s triumph as one of their own.

The Russian Tennis Federation was quick to claim Elena Rybakina as “our product” on her run to the women's title at Wimbledon.

The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation stepped in with an offer — represent them in exchange for the cash needed to support the global lifestyle of a tennis player. President Tokayev said in front of Putin at a televised conference in St. Petersburg last month that Kazakhstan would not recognize the two Russia-backed separatist governments in eastern Ukraine. When Rybakina — nervous, barely smiling, seemingly not quite sure what she had achieved — climbed into the stands at Centre Court on Saturday to celebrate with her team, she embraced first KTF president Bulat Utemuratov, then Yaroslava Shvedova, the former player who has become her mentor. Moscow-born Sofia Kenin, who left Russia as a baby and plays for the United States, won the Australian Open in 2020. Rybakina, known for the big serve which has brought a tour-leading 253 aces this year, made the switch at 19 when her career stalled because of financial issues. “It’s the Russian school, after all.

The women's singles champion is delighted at collecting her first major but less pleased with the attendant limelight.

“The goal for this year was to be top 10 and it’s still the same goal,” she said. “She came to me and she said, I want to be No 1 in the world,” he recalled. “I saw from her that she really wanted to move fast. “Everybody is trying to help me because it’s the first time and there is so much attention,” she said. “I was 100% sure she could win one,” he said. “Well for now I can say that I’m not enjoying [the attention] that much,” she said, a few hours after her triumph.

The 23-year-old will be part of the Kazakhstan team in the Billie Jean King Cup finals being played in Glasgow, and they find themselves in the same group ...

He predicts more Grand Slam titles for the country's new star: 'With a high percentage of first serves she is going to be very good. 'I don't really like to be in front of everybody. 'Elena declared for Kazakhstan more than four years ago. Rybakina met Raducanu in the US Open champion's first match of the season back in January - Rybakina met Raducanu in the US Open champion's first match of the season Rybakina met Raducanu in the US Open champion's first match of the season back in January, in Sydney. She gave a warning of what might come at SW19 by thrashing the albeit rusty Raducanu for the loss of just one game.