Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina wins Wimbledon defeating Tunisian Ons Jabeur
The Kazakhstani tennis player Elena Rybakina, born and raised in Moscow, was crowned champion of Wimbledon on Saturday by defeating the number two in the world, Tunisian Ons Jabeur, by 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The 23rd female racket in the world needed one hour and 47 minutes to defeat Jabeur, who aspired to be the first Arab champion of the Grand Slam on grass, on the central court of the All England Club in London.
"I was super nervous before the match and during the match," confessed 23-year-old Rybakina, stating that she was so happy about her victory that she had never felt anything like it.
"I didn't expect to be in the second week of a Grand Slam, at Wimbledon, and to be the winner is simply incredible," she reiterated her own surprise, expressing gratitude, among others, to the president of the Kazakhstani Tennis Federation for believing in her.
Born and raised in Russia, Rybakina chose to play under the flag of neighboring Kazakhstan in 2018, when she was ranked 175th in the world.
Four years later, this allowed her to compete in the Wimbledon tournament after its organizers decided to ban the participation of Russian and Belarusian tennis players in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin's troops. AFP