As patron of the All England Club, Kate was in charge of the presentation ceremony after the women’s singles final. 4 The Duchess of Cambridge presented Elena Rybakina with the Wimbledon trophyCredit: Paul Edwards 4 The 23-year-old was born and raised in Russia but now represents KazakhstanCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun 4 Kate watched and clapped as Rybakina lifted her plate of Venus RosewaterCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun 4 The No17 seed kissed the trophy but barely cracked a smile on Center CourtCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun And with Elena Rybakina coming from behind to beat Ons Jabeur 3-6 6-2 6-2, Wimbledon’s worst fears came true. Rybakina, 23, was born and raised in Moscow and both she and her parents are believed to still live in the Russian capital – although she switched her allegiance to Kazakhstan in 2018 to receive funding from their tennis federation. So the fact that she is playing under the Kazakh flag – with a Kazakh passport – meant that she was allowed into Wimbledon, which banned all Russian and Belarusian stars because of the invasion of Ukraine. That prompted the ATP and WTA to deduct ranking points from the grass-court Grand Slam, which in turn helped Russia’s Daniil Medvedev tighten his grip on the top of the men’s rankings. World No23 Rybakina then cruised through the tournament, dropping just two sets in her seven matches, to lift her maiden Grand Slam – and become the first player from Kazakhstan, male or female, to win a major . The Duchess was all smiles and professional as ever, congratulating Rybakina on her win and presenting her with the Venus Rosewater plate on Cente Court. But the outspoken McEnroe refused to shy away from the obvious irony of the future queen and a Russian-born Wimbledon champion pocketing £2million in prize money. He told BBC television: “I don’t want to go into politics, but she is Russian. “Her parents live in Moscow.” Presenter Sue Barker – presenting her last Wimbledon in 30 years – tried to downplay the comments by referring to Greg Rusedski’s move from Canada to Great Britain. But social media is awash with a flurry of posts referring to the same twist of fate, including a photo of Rybakina in a tracksuit from Russia. One said: “It’s funny to ban individual Russian players from competing, yet a Russian wins the title.” Another wrote: “How amusing that a girl born in Moscow won Wimbledon without Russia.” BET SPECIAL – WIMBLEDON LATEST OFFERS AND FREE BET A third added: “I guess banning Russian players didn’t work! And a final user commented: “The irony that the Russians got banned and a Russian ended up winning the women’s title.” Speaking on court after her victory, Rybakina – who barely celebrated or even smiled – said: “To be the winner is just amazing, I have no words to say how happy I am. I wouldn’t be here without my team. “I appreciate him (Tennis Kazakhstan president) coming to support me in the semi-final and the final, it’s incredible support. “I want to say a big thank you to all my team – the most important is my parents of course, but they are not here. “I’m so sorry. My sister is here. Without my parents, I wouldn’t be here.”
