Russian-born Elena Rybakina has won the Wimbledon women’s tournament despite a ban on players from her native country. The 23-year-old came back from one set down to beat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday. The former gymnast and figure skater switched her allegiance to Kazakhstan back in 2018 in exchange for financial support, thus allowing her to play at Wimbledon under the Central Asian country’s banner and giving the country its first ever grand slam winner. Russian players were barred from this year’s Wimbledon Championships due to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, causing a stir in the tennis world. The Women’s Tennis Association fined Britain’s governing tennis body as well as Wimbledon’s venue, the All England Club, citing discrimination. Additionally, the WTA, the International Tennis Federation and the Association of Tennis Professionals all withdrew their ranking points from the tournament. Rybakina has kept mostly quiet on her home country’s actions. “I’m playing for Kazakhstan for a long time. I’m really happy representing Kazakhstan,” she said.
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