Jelena Rybakina is the Wimbledon queen

Jelena Rybakina clenched her fist, blew briefly and celebrated her Wimbledon triumph without much emotion at first. Even when the first Kazakh Grand Slam tournament winner received the Venus Rosewater Dish as a trophy from Duchess Kate, the 23-year-old still seemed overwhelmed by her unexpected debut success.

“I'm speechless, I was super nervous before the game and during the game,” said Rybakina. “I'm glad it's over, I've never felt anything like this before. She turned the final on Saturday against world number two Ons Jabeur from Tunisia 3:6, 6:2, 6:2 and was able to celebrate the greatest success of her career. Tennis history will be written in the final Jabeur, who defeated Tatjana Maria in the semi-finals, initially dominated the game. However, Rybakina fought her way back with her powerful game in front of celebrities like actor Tom Cruise. The native Russian, who changed her nationality in 2018, will receive two million British pounds (equivalent to 2,36 million euros) for her triumph.

Jabeur gets £1,05 million and missed out on the first Grand Slam title by an Arab and African player. “I am happy that I have inspired so many generations from my country,” said the 27-year-old, who has repeatedly emphasized that she plays for all Arab and African players. “You are an inspiration not only for juniors, but for everyone,” Rybakina enthused about her opponent. “You have an incredible game, I enjoy playing against you so much.”

Ons Jabeur started excellently, but then slacked off significantly. © APA/afp / SEBASTIEN BOZON

Because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, professionals from Russia and Belarus were excluded from Wimbledon. Rybakina, who was born in Moscow, emphasized several times during the tournament that she was happy to represent Kazakhstan. “They believed in me. There is no longer any question about how I feel. I have been on a journey as a Kazakh player for a long time.” When asked about the war, she said that she wanted it “to end as quickly as possible.” After her victory, she thanked the Kazakh association president for his trust. Before the final, she dodged questions about her place of residence in Moscow. Because of her many trips as a professional athlete, she is actually at home on the tour. “I spend most of my time on tour. I train between tournaments in Slovakia and have camps in Dubai. So I don’t live anywhere, to be honest.” A hard-fought Wimbledon final It quickly became clear that it would be a completely different game for Jabeur than in the semi-final against Maria, which was characterized by finesse and many undercut duels on both sides. As usual, Rybakina relied on her powerful serve and powerful groundstrokes. In contrast to the impressive semi-final success against the former winner Simona Halep from Romania, she showed nerves and had difficulty dealing with her opponent's slice. After a backhand error from the Kazakh, Jabeur got the first break to make it 2-1 and jumped for joy.

Rybakina held on in a competitive game, but was unable to put enough pressure on her opponent when Jabeur served. After just 32 minutes, the Tunisian used her first set point for the second break and the deserved 6:3.

Rybakina was initially unimpressed and took the service from her opponent with her first chance. Jabeur still had fun, played a ball after the point with his head, returned a lob through his legs as he ran back. But rhythm, concentration and a little later the second movement were gone. Even in the decisive round, Rybakina had fewer problems with her opponent's stop balls than at the beginning and immediately got the break. Jabeur became increasingly desperate and missed three break points when the score was 2:3. Instead, she gave up her own serve again and made a mistake on Rybakina's first match point.

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Jelena Rybakina is the Wimbledon queen

Jelena Rybakina won the Wimbledon final against world number two Ons Jabeur. The 23-year-old made tennis history: she was the first tennis professional from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam title.

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