As “unexpected” and “incredible” as Elena Rybakina discovered her Wimbledon championship and as “super happy” as she was to win a Grand Slam name at 23 and 23rd, her prompt reaction after winning the last point on Saturday was as calm as possible.
She expired. He headed to the net to shake hands with his opponent, No. 2 ranked Ons Jabeur. He allowed himself a faint smile as he looked up to watch the excitement in the guest box on center court. No cries of joy. No jumps in the air. No landslides in the grass.
“I have to teach him,” Jabeur later said, “how to celebrate well. “
It wasn’t until more than two hours after the conclusion of their 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over World No. 2 Jabeur that Rybakina overcame the importance of it all, adding that he won the first individual trophy. during a primary tournament for his country in a row, Kazakhstan.
That moment of awareness came when, at a press conference filled with questions about his lack of expression outdoors on the ground, a journalist asked what Rybakina’s reaction would be to this triumph. They weren’t there on Saturday; she hadn’t talked to them yet.
“Probably,” he said, his eyes full of tears, his face flushed and his hand in his mouth, “they’re going to be very proud. “
And then, after a pause, Rybakina joked: “You looked to see emotions!”
It’s the first Wimbledon women’s final since 1962 between two players making their debut in a Grand Slam title match, and Rybakina admitted to being nervous at first. Instead, Rybakina maintained a double-company grip on the black and red straps of the racket bag hanging from his shoulders.
And it was Jabeur who played better early on, handling Rybakina’s forged serve and back shots to break for a 2-1 lead.
Rybakina’s mistakes multiplied. A volley into the net with the whole yard wide open. A forehand shot scored after Jabeur received a short return. When Rybakina’s red racket forehand went wrong, Jabeur fell in love to take the first set and shouted “Yalla!”- Arabic for “Let’s Go!” – and threw a hook as he walked towards the sideline.
Jabeur, a 27-year-old Tunisian, went on a streak of 12 consecutive victories, all on grass, and was looking for the first Arab or African woman to win a Singles Slam title in the professional era, dating back to 1968.
“I’m just looking to motivate as many generations as possible,” said Jabeur, who had stored a photo of the Wimbledon women’s singles trophy on her phone for inspiration. Next time. “
Rybakina was born in Moscow and has been part of Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country presented its investment to help in his tennis career. The substitution was the subject of a verbal substitution by Wimbledon, as the All England Club banned athletes from russia or Belarus from entering the tournament. due to the war in Ukraine.
The men’s and women’s tennis circuits have responded to this by retaining all Wimbledon qualification points, meaning Rybakina may not get the promotion it would have had any other year.
“I didn’t decide where I was born,” Rybakina said. People believed in me. Kazakhstan has been very supportive of me. “
Since the WTA PC rankings began in 1975, only one woman ranked below Rybakina has won Wimbledon: Venus Williams in 2007 at No. 31, was No. 1 and has already won 3 of the five trophies of her Wimbledon career.
At the set time, Rybakina, who beat Serena Williams at Roland Garros last year, began to show why she leads the ace tour in 2022, why, as she said, “It’s effortless, the strength I have. “
Regardless, his first break chance came more than an hour later, and Rybakina switched to make it 1-0 when Jabeur missed a forehand. led 5-1.
“I didn’t play my most productive tennis, let’s say, moment and 3rd set,” said Jabeur, who leads the women’s circuit with thirteen wins in 3 sets this year. “She to be more aggressive. I think he intervened a lot more. “on the court and he put a lot of pressure on me. “
Hitting his flat forehands deep into the court, not allowing Jabeur to regain his rhythm, Rybakina broke to start the third. There was one last moment: Jabeur, who uses as many rotations, cuts and variety as anyone else in the game, controlled a cushioning and a balloon in love-40 on Rybakina’s serve.
But Rybakina took the next five points, helped with some serves at 119 mph, went 4-2 and then broke again temporarily.
“Frustrating,” Jabeur said.
Soon after, it was over.
“I didn’t know what to do. It was shocking,” Rybakina said, explaining that he was so “shocked” that he didn’t hear some of what the Duchess of Cambridge told him at the trophy ceremony.
“Maybe one day I’ll see a massive reaction from me,” he said with a smile, “but unfortunately not today. “
Rybakina later admitted that he didn’t expect to make it to the time of the week of the fortnight, minus the last weekend.
She is now, and will be forever, a Grand Slam champion.
“It’s hard to describe now how I feel. But for sure, I will in two weeks, especially today, forever,” Rybakina said. “I mean, it’s something I’ll never forget. “