Rybakina powers past Jabeur to Wimbledon title

09 July 2022 - 17:25
By Reuters
Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan celebrates with the trophy after victory against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia during the Ladies' Singles Final match on day thirteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2022 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan celebrates with the trophy after victory against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia during the Ladies' Singles Final match on day thirteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2022 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Elena Rybakina produced a sensational display of power tennis to beat Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 3-6 6-2 6-2 and become the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon on Saturday.

Jabeur, bidding to become the first African woman and first Arab to win a Grand Slam singles title, settled quickly to take the opening set in blazing sunshine.

But the 23-year-old Rybakina began to find her mark with her powerful serve and groundstrokes and seized control.

She looked nervous serving at 5-2 in the decider but stayed composed to claim the title, barely celebrating as Jabeur fired wide on match point.

With Russian and Belarusian players banned from the grass court major following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Rybakina would have been excluded from this year's Wimbledon had she not switched allegiance from Russia four years ago.