Elena Rybakina defeated Ons Jabeur on Saturday, July 9 in the women’s singles final to win the 2022 Wimbledon title. Going into the tournament, Rybakina wasn’t the favorite among experts and analysts to capture the title.
Her victory and performance was very impressive—full of powerful serves and incredible defense. She beat rising stars like the teenager Zheng Qinwen and former Grand Slam champions like Bianca Andreescu and Simona Halep. In the final, she defeated Ons Jabeur, the player ranked number two in the world who was expected to come out on top. But the audience still greeted Rybakina’s victory politely.
Rybakina, ranked 23rd, played for Kazakhstan, a vastly and lightly populated country. She was born and raised in Russia. Until this year, she was based in Moscow, and many of her closest friends as well as her parents still live in the capital. This Wimbledon title marks the first major feat an athlete from Kazakhstan has achieved.
Wimbledon also had a great surprise when Russian newcomer Maria Sharapova won the title in 2004 at age 17. However, Rybakina’s win comes at a somewhat interesting or perhaps awkward time for those with Russian connections. The tournament banned all Russian and Belarusian players this year because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The move came after public pressure from the British government, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But the ban was also put in place to deprive Russia and its leadership of the chance to use any Russian success at the tournament for propaganda.
Rybakina, who began representing Kazakhstan in 2018, was asked about if her native country might try to politicize her victory. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m playing for Kazakhstan for a very, very long time. I represent it on the biggest tournaments, the Olympics, which was a dream come true. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I mean, it’s always some news, but I cannot do anything about this.”
Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/09/sports/tennis/wimbledon-elena-rybakina-russia.html
Her victory and performance was very impressive—full of powerful serves and incredible defense. She beat rising stars like the teenager Zheng Qinwen and former Grand Slam champions like Bianca Andreescu and Simona Halep. In the final, she defeated Ons Jabeur, the player ranked number two in the world who was expected to come out on top. But the audience still greeted Rybakina’s victory politely.
Rybakina, ranked 23rd, played for Kazakhstan, a vastly and lightly populated country. She was born and raised in Russia. Until this year, she was based in Moscow, and many of her closest friends as well as her parents still live in the capital. This Wimbledon title marks the first major feat an athlete from Kazakhstan has achieved.
Wimbledon also had a great surprise when Russian newcomer Maria Sharapova won the title in 2004 at age 17. However, Rybakina’s win comes at a somewhat interesting or perhaps awkward time for those with Russian connections. The tournament banned all Russian and Belarusian players this year because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The move came after public pressure from the British government, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But the ban was also put in place to deprive Russia and its leadership of the chance to use any Russian success at the tournament for propaganda.
Rybakina, who began representing Kazakhstan in 2018, was asked about if her native country might try to politicize her victory. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m playing for Kazakhstan for a very, very long time. I represent it on the biggest tournaments, the Olympics, which was a dream come true. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I mean, it’s always some news, but I cannot do anything about this.”
Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/09/sports/tennis/wimbledon-elena-rybakina-russia.html
