Rybakina is probably the most controversial winner in recent years, because she was born in Russia and still lives in Moscow. However, Russians and Belarusians are excluded from Wimbledon this year because of the war in Ukraine.
But Rybakina had already changed associations in 2018, “because Kazakhstan was looking for players and I needed help. The Kazakhs believed in me, that’s how we found each other,” she said.
But whether she felt more like a Russian or a Kazakh, she evaded that answer. “A difficult question. I represent Kazakhstan, that makes me happy. And my home is the tour. I train in Slovakia, I’m rarely in Moscow,” Rybakina said. When asked if she would condemn the war, she didn’t want to understand. “My English isn’t the best,” she said. Oddly enough, she understood the rest without any problems.
The course in the first set was set early. Jabeur broke Rybakina to make it 2:1, then served through safely until she took the serve from her opponent a second time to make it 6:3. Rybakina never reached the level of the last encounters, missed a lot of easy balls.
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/ons-jabeur-lieferte-elena-rybakina-einen-harten-kampf-3be530dd983648a1b998e93511f07b17-80652080/Bild/7.bild.jpg”/> Ons Jabeur delivered a tough fight to Elena RybakinaFoto: TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS