Elena Rybakina played in her first Grand Slam singles final match.
Kirsty Wigglesworth / Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England – Losing a tennis match on a stage as big as Center Court is probably never a good feeling. Sometimes a player is too good, you are blown away by the court and all you can do is tip your head at them and realize it was just not your day.
Other times, the matches are over Xs and Os, or how players are currently handling.
For Ons Jabeur, the love of this tournament for fans and reporters, it was a bit of all of the above Saturday’s women’s singles finals against Elena Rybakina.
Both compete in the biggest match of their lives, the first Grand Slam final appearance for them in their respective countries, the strange match reflects their lack of experience at the moment and has shown in the last tally – a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory for Rybakina.
“Happy that it’s ready to be honest, because really, I’ve never felt anything like this,” Rybakina said during her post-match interview in court.
Jabeur prepared for Wimbledon by playing doubles with Serena Williams and sharing her emotions around inspiring other Tunisian children to take up the sport. People in the tennis world already knew that she was a charming player and a person who was also loved by players. She wanted to be the first Arab woman and the first African woman to win a major title. And she was the favorite in this final. She played the role perfectly in the first set, betraying some nerves, losing just four points on serve to take the frame.
It seemed like the second sentence was a formality, but the match quickly turned around.
Rybakina started reading Jabeur’s witty game and settled into the match, showing real athleticism to go with her strength. She may be the best server in women’s tennis, but she showed how well she could play in defense as well. As Rybakina began to remove one of Jabeur’s weapons – her beautiful dropshot – Jabeur’s unforeseen mistakes began to spike and she became increasingly frustrated. It is all a credit to Rybakina, who has not come under the pressure of the moment.
The sixth part of the third sentence was the expression of it. The 3-2 in the set, Jabeur used a dropshot and a well-placed lob to add 40-yards on Rybakina’s serve. But after two major performances, both around the 120-mph range, the 23-year-old cleared three break points, eventually serving and continuing to win the match.
Jabeur is looking to become the first Tunisian player to win a Grand Slam title.
Kirsty Wigglesworth / Associated Press
Jabeur will certainly be disappointed not to finish this match, especially next to the loser in the first round of the French Open. But we have not seen the last Jabeur, who, at 27, matures in her game despite the sting of these back-to-back slam results.
“I love this tournament so much. I feel really sad. But it’s tennis. There is only one winner,” said Jabeur. “I am really happy that I am trying to inspire many generations of my country. I hope they listen. “
The big story that came to Wimbledon was the endless ban on Russian and Belarusian players in response to the Russian war with Ukraine. No one behind this decision wanted to glorify or see the view of a Russian player lifting the trophy so that it could be used as propaganda by Vladimir Putin. It would have been too much to carry. But in Rybakina you have a player who was born and raised in Moscow. Her family still lives there. But she was able to play because she received funding from the Kazakhstan Federation and changed her nationality.
Like we said before, we did not bury Rybakina for her decision and the ban was not made by her, but there was something a little unusual about a player who is Russian in every way, except for her pass winning Wimbledon. This is not Rybakina’s fault, it’s the general decision.
Throughout the tournament, she was measured and diplomatic when asked about the situation, probably aware of how politically charged it all was. We can not help feeling her, because the mistakes of the ban really occurred Saturday.
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