Published: 12:00, 9 July 2022 | Updated: 16:23, July 9, 2022
Elena Rybakina made glorious history for Kazakhstan on Center Court on Saturday as she won a first Grand Slam singles title for both herself and the adopted nation she now represents. The 23-year-old came from behind to beat Tunisian world No2 Ons Jabeur, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, under a blazing sun. However, the heat her win will now attract, through no fault of her own, is likely to be intense in the extreme. With players from Russia and Belarus banned by the All England Club from attending these Championships – in effect, in solidarity with Ukraine – Rybakina’s appearance in the final was seen by Russian authorities as a possible bloody nose for the west. Rybakina was born in Moscow, raised in Moscow, has a home in Moscow, and this victory is now being claimed by Moscow, specifically Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine. Rybakina became Kazakhstani in 2018 after being offered lucrative aid to do so. A pre-match headline on pro-Putin website Russia Today (RT) read: “Elena Rybakina: Meet the Russian star aiming for Wimbledon glory.” The RT article said a Rybakina win “could herald a somewhat awkward moment for Wimbledon – even the British Royal Family.” The royal family was mentioned because the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, was at Wimbledon to watch the final and make the post-match presentations. This is not the result that the All England Club would realistically want or expect. And at the end of a first set where Rybakina was as composed as a giraffe in a skating pond, it didn’t seem likely. Jabeur broke her in the third and ninth games of the first match. Rybakina was unable to land any of her trademark aces and made plenty of errors. Jabeur was hoping to make the same history as the first woman from the African continent, as well as the first Arab woman, to win a Slam singles title. But after being broken in the first game of the second set, it was her game that collapsed, and when she was broken in the first game of the third, so was she. Before the match, the president of the Russian Tennis Federation, Shamil Tarpichev, had said: “It’s nice that Elena will play in the Wimbledon final, she is our product. Of course we will cheer for her.’ The player herself had made it clear that she was here to represent Kazakhstan and that she wanted Russia’s war in Ukraine to end. Some elements of the Russian media describe Rybakina as Russian, without even mentioning that she now represents Kazakhstan. An RT article said: “The All England Club’s controversial decision to pull players from Russia and Belarus from this year’s event, which drew ire from the WTA and ATP, was made in part with the intention of excluding a PR headache. celebrating a victorious Russian athlete amid the country’s military action in Ukraine, which the West has expressed its disdain for with a series of economic and – yes – sporting sanctions. “Nevertheless, a Moscow-born tennis star is on the brink of a historic achievement on the pristine grass that the All England Club had hoped would be free of Russian influence, even if that propaganda was largely manufactured, and even amplified, by their own actions. “The cherry on top of the saga? The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, will take it upon herself to present the trophy to the winner at a time when Buckingham’s press will no doubt be watching nervously through their fingers.’ The Duchess duly did, which will no doubt be seized upon by the Kremlin, which is a shame for all involved. Follow Sportsmail’s live blog of the 2022 Wimbledon women’s final between Elena Rybakina and Ons Jamber.
