After sealing her first championship point with a service winner, Rybakina celebrated her 1 hour 48 minute victory with just one punch. In the first Wimbledon title match between first-time Grand Slam finalists of the Open Era, Rybakina, 23, also became the youngest woman to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish since 21-year-old Petra Kvitova in 2011. She is now the fourth youngest active champion on the Hologic WTA Tour, greater than only Iga Swiatek, Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu. Elena Rybakina’s route to the Wimbledon titleR1: [LL] CoCo Vandeweghe 7-6(2), 7-5R2: Bianca Andreescu 6-4, 7-6(5)R3: Zheng Qinwen 7-6(4), 7-5R4: Petra Martic 7-5, 6-3QF: Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3SF: [16] Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3F: [3] Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 Wimbledon is Rybakina’s third career title and first since Hobart 2020. In between, she had lost four straight finals, as well as last year’s bronze medal play-off at the Tokyo Olympics. Reaction to Wimbledon: Rybakina defeated two previous Slam winners along the way, Andreescu in the second round and Simona Halep in the semifinals. Her win against Jabeur was her first against a Top 10 player since defeating Garbiñe Muguruza in the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Olympics. Rybakina’s previous best Grand Slam performance was at Roland Garros 2021, where she defeated Serena Williams to reach the quarterfinals before losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. This year’s Wimbledon was only the second time he played in the main draw at The Championships. In her debut last year, Rybakina made the fourth round before falling to Aryna Sabalenka. Jabeur also leaves Wimbledon after making history. She has spent much of her career as a pioneer for her country and region and is the first Tunisian and Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final. Match Management: The top-ranked Jaber wasted little time establishing herself in the match. In the first set, her drop shot and passes were both on song, and she used her variety to consistently put Rybakina in uncomfortable positions. Rybakina committed 17 unforced errors in the first step, one of which left her serve trailing 2-1. Meanwhile, a superb serving display from Jabeur gave little chance to turn the set. The world No.2 dropped just four service points in total during the opener. And although Rybakina looked to have settled midway through, she dropped the final eight points. Rybakina’s comeback in the second set was as much about elevating her offensive game as it was about the best defense of her career. She increased her first serve percentage from 58% to 63%, but her movement was a critical component in this stretch of the game. Throughout the second set, Rybakina repeatedly chased down Jabeur’s drop shots — and then provided the touch she needed to hit angled winners. Having broken Jabeur in the first game of the set, Rybakina avoided a momentum shift by surviving three break back points to hold for 3-1. Now, it was Jabeur’s turn to fall away, leaking impatient errors to fall behind on a double break. Rybakina leveled the match with minimal fuss, knocking down four unreturned serves to close out the set. With the tension building on Center Court, Rybakina maintained her composure as the third set began. He broke straight away, once again outscoring Jabeur in what is more often Tunisian territory. Jabeur dragged Rybakina into the forecourt with a clever short piece, but it was Rybakina who managed to stop the volley. As in the second set, Rybakina faced her biggest challenge to her lead midway through the decider. Jabeur went to triple back point after a drop shot hit the net and a perfect lob — but Rybakina’s serve was able to fend them off and she held for 4-2 with a confident volley. Having passed that test, Rybakina cruised to victory, breaking Jabeur again for 5-2 and then serving out the match on her first chance. She finished the day with four aces, taking her tournament total to 53, and 29 winners to 33 unforced errors. Rybakina on overcoming nerves: “I was very nervous. Yesterday I had a good training. But in the evening I already started to feel that I am very nervous. In the morning also. But I was just trying to tell myself that it is a race and I already had experience. I mean that for me the worst thing is if you go up then you lose the match. Unfortunately I had a lot of matches like that so maybe it helped me a little. “I was trying to convince myself that it can happen again, and hopefully it’s not the last time I’m in the final. Not the first, not the last. I already did a great job with my team. With those words I was trying to calm down. “Me, she played well. I needed time to adjust to her game. But then I thought I’m going to fight until the end no matter what. I just tried to focus on every point because it was very difficult. It was very hot. I think because I was physically nervous, I thought I couldn’t do it anymore. But in the end I was running on all those drop shots. “I think it was the first time I ran so hard on all those tough shots from Ons.” Rybakina on her calm reactions to the win: “I’m always very calm. I don’t know what should happen. When I was speaking at the end I was thinking, ‘I’m going to cry now,’ but somehow I’m holding it in. Maybe later when I’m alone in the room , I will cry nonstop. I don’t know. “Maybe because deep down I think I can do it. But at the same time it’s, like, too many emotions. I was just trying to keep myself calm. Maybe one day you’ll see a huge reaction from me, but unfortunately not today.” Rybakina on what she proved: “Maybe I proved that you don’t always have to have a big team from a young age, because I didn’t until the age of 17, 18. So I think that’s the most important thing, that everyone, regardless of their financial situation, whoever they are, can play and achieve a lot of great results. “And for myself that I can actually win a Grand Slam. I believe in myself more and maybe I can win more Grand Slams. Who knows? But that’s definitely the goal, and that’s what I’ll work for.”
