Rybakina, who began representing Kazakhstan four years ago after the former Soviet republic agreed to fund her career, defeated Jabeur, who has been faltering and succumbing to inconsistency after taking an early lead. Rybakina, 23, was nervous and shaky early on, missing seemingly easy rally balls and struggling to get to her dangerous first serve on the court, but settled down as the match wore on. Once she found her rhythm, Jabeur had few answers. She had a chance to level even in the third set as Rybakina trailed 0-40 serving 3-2, but Jabeur was unable to close out the game and Rybakina crossed the finish line. On the final point, Rybakina watched as Jabeur, the world No. 2 player, sent a final backhand back wide and bounced into the net in near-celebration. A few minutes later she walked up the stairs to her box to hug her team. It was the first Grand Slam title for Rybakina and the first for a player representing Kazakhstan, which has recruited several men and women from Russia to represent it in tennis over the past 15 years, funding their development as part of an effort to make the country more appealing to the West. It was a fight that would never go down for a story no matter who won. Jaber, a 27-year-old from Tunisia, was the first Arab woman and the first African woman to reach the Wimbledon final and the first Arab woman to make a Grand Slam final. She is Muslim and the match was struck on Eid al-Adha — the Feast of Sacrifice. The holiday recalls the story of Allah asking Abraham to sacrifice his son as a sign of faith. There was a time when it seemed like every year an American played for this championship on the 4th of July. But his sport and calendar have changed. The Wimbledon final is a week later, and American players, and those from every other country that has dominated tennis for most of the past 100 years, face far greater competition from places where the sport has only recently taken off. “I feel very sad, but that’s tennis. There is only one winner,” Jabeur said holding the second trophy. “I try to inspire many generations for my country.” Rybakina told the Center Court crowd that it was an honor to play in front of the royal box. She also thanked Bulat Utemuratov, the billionaire president of the Kazakhstan tennis federation, for believing in her. “I’ve never felt anything like this,” she said, with Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, standing a few feet away. Prince William did not attend the match. Kate was accompanied onto the pitch by Ian Hewitt, the chairman of the All England Club, and the man responsible for explaining the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players in April. Rybakina, the 23rd-ranked player in the world, had never before advanced this week from the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament. Tall and long and strong with one of the most dangerous serves in the game, she was born in Russia and lived there until she came of age. Her parents still live in Russia. After turning 18, she accepted an opportunity to receive funding for her tennis career from Kazakhstan. He represented Kazakhstan at the Tokyo Olympics last year. Her run to the final made for an awkward tournament, bringing politics into the fray after tournament organizers tried to keep them out by disqualifying a Russian and a Belarusian player because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Organizers made the move at the behest of the British government and the royal family. The Duchess of Cambridge traditionally presents the trophy to the Wimbledon winner. Few in Britain wanted to see her give it to a Russian, while Britain was among the leaders in providing aid and arms to Ukraine. On court, Jabeur and Rybakina also promised one of the sport’s ultimate style contrasts. Jabeur’s name is rarely mentioned without being followed by “wicked” a few words later. Her game is filled with just about every type of tennis shot there is. At any moment, he can cut the ball at an angle and with a spin that makes it hook as it clears the net and finds the unguarded area of the court or hit with a mobile hand on the line. For her, tennis is a profession and a sport, but also a game and a means of expressing her innate creativity. The question was whether Rybakina would give Jabeur a chance to hit her shots or if the power of her serve and slingshots would knock Jabeur out of bounds. Early on, finesse trumped power. Jabeur drew first blood, forcing a nervous Rybakina to hit from deep in the court. Rybakina struggled with her forehand as Jabeur danced on the grass showing off the range of her arsenal. In the fourth game, she sliced one of her elegant backhands past Rybakina, who was closing in on the net. A game later, she jumped on a second serve and sent a searing forehand that sent Rybakina back. Jabeur is no puncher, but when she likes a winner she just hit, especially one on the move, she jogs across the grass like a basketball player who just sank a three-pointer. She jogged a lot in the first set, which she won when Rybakina sent a forehand into the middle of the net. However, Jabeur rarely plays complete matches, even when she appears to be going for a quick afternoon. Especially in pressure situations, there is often a swing, sometimes fatal, and it came early in the second set on Saturday. Whether the idea of walking away from becoming Wimbledon champion suddenly seemed too big only she knows. But in an instant, the ease and poise he had shown in the first set disappeared. Rybakina broke Jabeur’s serve in the first game of the second set and Jabeur never really recovered. She tried to lighten the mood, directing an errant ball to a ballboy at the end of a game and attempting a between-the-legs shot while chasing a lob, but she became more erratic as the set went on. Rybakina, meanwhile, rocked her first crazy. She began to lay off her first serve. Forehands that had sailed too early started diving into the corners and hitting the edges of the lines. He charged the net to seal points and sealed the set with an ace that Jabeur could only stare at. The third set brought more of the same, although the crowd roared every time she started a serve, and when she had three chances to reach the set midway, desperately trying to pick her up and keep the Duchess sitting in the front row. the royal box in the brightest yellow dress in all of Center Court from her starring role in the weirdest post-match trophy ceremonies. But nothing was going to stop Rybakina this year at Wimbledon: not Jabeur, not the crowd, not even a decree from the government to prevent players from Russia from participating.
