Elena Rybakina's Wimbledon triumph has been labelled a "victory for Russian tennis" despite star officially representing Kazakhstan.
Rybakina, 23, had never been beyond the last-eight stage of a Grand Slam, but found her best form to reach the final, beating 2019 champion Simona Halep in the semi-final. She then came from a set down to beat Ons Jabeur in Saturday's final, becoming the first player from her nation to win a Slam title.
The Moscow born star switched allegiances in 2018, but her parents have remained based in Russia. In her post-match press conference, the world No 23 broke down in tears when she tried to explain the pride her mother and father would have taken from her display.
Throughout the Championships, Rybakina has been frequently been asked about her Russian roots, but has repeatedly insisted she is committed to representing Kazakhstan. And after she beat Ajla Tomljanovic in her quarter-final, she condemned the conflict in Ukraine, stating: "I just want the war to end as soon as possible and peace."
But Russian tennis coach Vladimir Kamelzon has now argued that her win represented glory for her birth country: "A stunning victory for Russian tennis at Wimbledon, contrary to everything that was organised against the Russians," he told TASS.
“Rybakina is a unique girl, fantastic, purely Russian, the education of a Russian school. This is an achievement primarily of Russia.” The president of the Russian Tennis Federation, Shamil Tarpischev, echoed his sentiments.
“Our school won Wimbledon – it’s nice, it’s from Moscow," he told the same publication. It turned out that again our country is in favour in London, tomorrow I will congratulate her."
Undoubtedly, Rybakina's success has added extra spice to the already explosive issue of Russian and Belarusian players being banned from Wimbledon this year. The All England Tennis Club announced the measure in April, following apparent pressure from the British Government.
It prompted an angry response from the ATP and WTA Tours though, who initially warned of legal action against the decision. The iconic grass-court Championships were then stripped of ranking points, meaning that the likes of Rybakina will not move up the order irrespective of performance.
The player herself was asked in her post-final press conference if she was concerned Russia would politicise her victory, answering: “I don’t know. For me, as I said on the previous interviews, I’m playing for Kazakhstan [for a] very, very long time.
"I represent on the biggest tournaments, Olympics, which was a dream come true. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I mean, it’s always some news, but I cannot do anything about this."
Another female player, Natela Dzalamidze, switched her official nationality with the WTA Tour to Georgian in order to circumvent Wimbledon's ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. She reached the second round of the doubles with Croatian player Aleksandra Krunic before being eliminated.
