Russian-born champion was able to compete at Wimbledon thanks to her switch of national allegiance in 2018
It took one hour, 48 minutes for history to be made at Wimbledon yesterday on Saturday as Elena Rybakina became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a grand slam singles title. Nervous initially, her 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ons Jabeur means her name will be forever associated with Wimbledon.
Rybakina went into the final as the underdog and many people expected it to be Jabeur to be the history-maker. The first Arab player to make a grand slam singles final and the first African to reach a singles final in the Open era, Jabeur led by a set but could not maintain her level in the face of a barrage of pure hitting and outstanding resilience from the 23-year-old, who is the youngest winner of the title since Petra Kvitova in 2011.