Elena Rybakina returns to beat Ons Jabeur in Wimbledon final

A few months into the 2020 season, one of the most surprising revelations was the rise of Elena Rybakina. After sneaking up the rankings the previous season, she quickly became impossible to ignore. Tournament after tournament her wins piled up and as she demolished serves and destroyed groundstrokes on both wings, she seemed destined to continue.

Instead, the pandemic hit and when the tour resumed, Rybakina struggled to find her way. Her fleeting moments of excellence were accompanied by frustration and she patiently waited for a breakthrough. Finally he came. Two marvelous weeks of continuously gaining momentum mean that Rybakina has arrived at the pinnacle of the sport.

After working through all the nerves and tension that accompanied her first Grand Slam final, Rybakina rallied from a one-set deficit to defeat third-seeded Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2 , 6-2 to become Wimbledon champion.

The 23-year-old is the first Kazakh player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament. Born in Russia and having represented her country of birth until the age of 19, Rybakina changed her nationality to Kazakhstan in 2018 after being offered financial support by the national federation.

After the All England Club opted to ban Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to which the ATP and WTA responded by removing ranking points, it is deeply ironic that the tournament ended with the best talent born in Russia. of the new generation that breaks through. As expected, the Duchess of Cambridge was present to present the trophy.

As cries of “yalla” and “go” rang out for Jabeur, the first Arab player and African woman to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open era, the challenge ahead of her was immediately clarified by Rybakina as she was hurtling 119 mph with no return. bomb on the opening point of the match, then broke a forehand winner to hold serve.

Rybakina is one of the greatest servers in the sport and she is destructive on both wings when her feet are planted and she feels the ball.

But Jabeur was determined to disrupt Rybakina with her complex and varied game and she was strong from the start. She lengthened the rallies, she forced Rybakina to constantly bend her knees with hearty slices, and she peppered Rybakina with drop shots, driving her forward, then throwing backhand punches at her. Jabeur broke serve for 2-1, then she ran through her service games to take the set. Rybakina finished the set desperately nervous, missing easy forehands and capitulating in the final game.

But the momentum abruptly changed at the start of the second set. Jabeur started the set by delivering a cheap service game with a series of unforced errors, scoring a forehand on the breaking point. Energized by the first sign of weakness, Rybakina held the serve and as she gained confidence, she began to crush Jabeur’s second serve and anticipate Jabeur’s drop shots. While Rybakina started to play on her terms, intimidating Jabeur on the pitch, the Tunisian herself became far too tight and she couldn’t impose her game on the match.

Rybakina finished the second set raining down service winners and it continued in the third set as she broke to take a 2-0 lead, winning six games in seven. After charming the crowd with lots of showboating early on, Jabeur grew increasingly frustrated as the match seemed to be slipping away.

As she stepped forward to serve while trailing by a pause, the crowd continually tried to liven up Jabeur. At 2-3 she answered, generating a triple break point with a wonderful lob. Back to the wall, Rybakina landed her first serves at more than 180 km/h and she hit the ball with complete freedom. She saved every break point, she held her serve, and then she clinched her first Grand Slam title.