LONDON — Too nervous to wave, Elena Rybakina stepped into the Centre Court sunshine before the Wimbledon final Saturday and kept a firm double-grip on the black-and-red straps of the racket bag slung over her shoulders.
No wave. Not much of a look around. Her play early on betrayed some jitters, too, which makes sense considering it was her debut in a Grand Slam title match.
Nearly two hours of big swinging and plenty of sprinting later, she had won the championship at the All England Club with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ons Jabeur — the first singles trophy at a major tournament for her adopted country of Kazakhstan.
Even then, Rybakina’s reaction was muted as can be, a little sigh, a hint of a smile.
“Happy that it finished, to be honest,” she said, “because really, I never felt something like this.”
She added later: “I don’t know what should happen. When I was giving speech in the end I was thinking, ‘I’m going to cry right now,’ but somehow I hold it. Maybe later when I’m going to be alone in the room, I’m going to cry nonstop. I don’t know.”
Rybakina was born in Moscow and has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered her funding to support her tennis career. The switch has been a topic of conversation during Wimbledon, because all players who represent Russia or Belarus were barred from entering the tournament because of the war in Ukraine.
Since the WTA computer rankings began in 1975, just one woman ranked lower than the No. 23 Rybakina has won Wimbledon — Venus Williams in 2007 at No. 31, although she had been No. 1 and had already won three of her five career Wimbledon trophies.
Rybakina, 23, used her big serve and powerful forehand to overcome the No. 2-ranked Jabeur’s varied style, with its mix of spins and slices, to put a halt to the 27-year-old Tunisian’s 12-match winning streak, which came entirely on grass courts.
“You have an amazing game, and I don’t think we have someone like this on tour,” Rybakina told Jabeur during the postmatch trophy ceremony, then added this one-liner: “I ran today so much, so I don’t think I need to do fitness more, honestly.”
Jabeur also was participating in her first Grand Slam final.
“She deserved this. Hopefully next time will be mine,” said Jabeur, whose exuberance on the court and personality off it have earned her the sobriquet Minister of Happiness.
“Elena stole my…
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