Elena Rybakina creates history, beats Ons Jabeur to become 1st Kazakh player to clinch Wimbledon title

Elena Rybakina was not the underdog but far from the favourite when she took the court against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon 2022 on Saturday (July 09). Jabeur had been one of the best players throughout the tournament and was in rampaging form but Rybakina stood tall at the Centre Court with her maiden Wimbledon triumph.

Rybakina created history by becoming the first tennis player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles title in tennis. The world no.23 defeated Jabeur 3-6,6-2,6-2 to register a stellar comeback win after going down in the first set. After losing the first set, Rybakina dominated the proceedings against Jabeur in the final to clinch a memorable win.

It was a historic summit clash between the two as both Rybakina and Jabeur were taking part in the first-ever Grand Slam singles final and were the first from their respective countries to feature in a Grand Slam final. 23-year-old Rybakina has become the youngest to win the Wimbledon title since Petra Kvitova in 2011.

Jabeur, who headed into the final after defeating German Tatjana Maria in the semi-final, was the favourite in the summit clash as she was on an unbeaten streak of eleven games. However, her unbeaten run was snapped by Rybakina, who dealt phenomenally well with pressure and brought her A-game to script history.

Also Read: I had a shocking sleep; had so much anxiety, concedes Nick Kyrgios ahead of final vs Novak Djokovic

Interestingly, Rybakina, who was born in the Russian capital of Moscow, would have been barred from taking part in Wimbledon this year had she not switched allegiance from Russia to Kazakhstan in 2018. All Russian and Belarusian players are banned from the competition this season owing to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Also Read: Wimbledon 2022 – Novak Djokovic hits back to beat Cameron Norrie, sets up final clash with Nick Kyrgios

Her Russian roots were a topic of debate ahead of the final but Rybakina let her talent and skills do the talking on the grass-court on Saturday. The 23-year-old was born in Moscow but had to leave Russia in 2018 due to a lack of opportunities. Kazakhstan offered her funding to support her tennis career and helped her win her maiden Grand Slam title on Saturday.