Rybakina rallies into history books
Win over Jabeur is first major trophy for adopted country of Kazakhstan
As “unexpectable” and “unbelievable” as Elena Rybakina found her Wimbledon championship to be and as “super happy” as she was about winning a Grand Slam title at age 23 and ranked 23rd, her immediate reaction to grabbing the last point of the final Saturday was as muted as possible.
She exhaled. She walked to the net to shake the hand of her opponent, No. 2-ranked Ons Jabeur. She allowed herself only the slightest of smiles as she looked up to glance at the excitement in the Centre Court guest box. No screams of joy. No jumps in the air. No collapse onto the grass.
It was not until more than two hours after the conclusion of her 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over the No. 2-ranked Jabeur that Rybakina was overcome by the significance of it all, including earning the first singles trophy at a major tournament for her adopted country of Kazakhstan.
That moment of realization came when, during a news conference filled with questions about her lack of outward expression on court, a reporter asked what Rybakina thought her parents’ reaction would be to this triumph. They were not on hand Saturday; she had not spoken to them yet.
“Probably,” she said, her eyes welling with tears, her face reddening, her hand placed over her mouth, “they’re going to be super proud.”
This was the first Wimbledon women’s final since 1962 between a pair of players both making a debut in a Grand Slam title match, and Rybakina acknowledged being nervous at the start. When she stepped into the sunshine filling the 100-year-old stadium, she did not wave to the spectators, the way Jabeur did. And it was Jabeur who played better in the early going, handling Rybakina’s strong serve and groundstrokes to break for a 2-1 edge.
Rybakina’s miscues mounted and Jabeur, who broke at love to take the opening set, yelled “Yalla!” — Arabic for “Let’s go!”
Jabeur, a 27-year-old from Tunisia, entered on a 12-match winning streak, all on grass courts, and was trying to become the first Arab or African woman to win a Slam singles title in the professional era, which dates to 1968.
Rybakina was born in Moscow and has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered her funding to support her tennis career. The switch has been a topic of conversation during Wimbledon, because the All England Club barred athletes who represent Russia or Belarus from entering the tournament due to the war in Ukraine.
By the second set, Rybakina began showing why she leads the tour in aces in 2022. Her first break chance finally arrived more than an hour in, and Rybakina converted it to go up 1-0 when Jabeur missed a forehand. After saving four break points over her next two service games, Rybakina broke again and soon led 5-1. Hitting her flat forehands deep into the court, never quite allowing Jabeur to regain her rhythm, Rybakina broke to begin the third.
Not much later, it was over.