Kazakhstani tennis player Yelena Rybakina, the surprise of the third Wimbledon 2022 tennis Grand Slam tournament, said she was proud to represent Kazakhstan, despite being born in Russia.
Tennis 365 quotes Rybakina: “I have been playing for Kazakhstan for a long time and I am very happy to represent this country. They believed in me. There are no more questions about how I feel. Yes, I was born in Russia, but I represent Kazakhstan.”
However, Elena Rybakina, who was born in Moscow on June 17, 1999, regretted that Russian tennis players were not allowed to participate in Wimbledon 2022.
“I like playing here and I will try my best to win the championship,” Rybakina concluded.
The Kazakhstani chess player made a big surprise by reaching the final of a major tournament for the first time, at the expense of Simona Halep, the 2019 Wimbledon champion, beating her in two unanswered sets, with one result: (6-3) and (6-3) in the match, which took place between them yesterday, Thursday, and lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Elena Rybakina will play in the Wimbledon final with Tunisian star Anas Jaber, who, in turn, reached the final of the Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her history, beating German Tatiana Maria two sets to one, the details are: (6) -2 and (3-6) and (6-1) and in the meeting between them on Thursday, which lasted 1 hour 43 minutes.
Thus, at Wimbledon 2022, with a prize fund of over £40 million, a new champion will appear: Elena Rybakina, who placed 17th, and Anas Jaber, who placed third, will reach the final for the first time in their history.
Elena Rybakina represented Russia until 2018, and later changed her sports nationality and began to represent Kazakhstan.
Source: “russian.rt.com”