Wimbledon: Elena Rybakina says she ‘did not know’ how to celebrate victory
New Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina said she “did not know” how to celebrate her “shocking” victory over Ons Jabeur in the final.
Rybakina beat the Tunisian third seed 3-6 6-2 6-2 to become Kazakhstan’s first Grand Slam singles champion.
The 23-year-old is known for not celebrating victories and simply raised her right arm in the air when she won.
Jabeur later joked that she will have to teach the new major champion “how to celebrate properly”.
Rybakina produced a stunning fightback to beat Jabeur, who was one of the favourites for the title from the beginning.
She raised her racquet to the crowd after the winning moment before heading into the stands to celebrate with her box.
“Maybe one day you will see huge reaction from me, but unfortunately not today,” Rybakina said.
“I didn’t know what to do, it was shocking. It’s too many emotions. I was just trying to keep myself calm.
“When I was giving the speech [on court] I was thinking, I’m going to cry right now, but somehow I held it.
“Maybe later when I’m alone in the room, I’m going to cry non-stop. I don’t know.”
Rybakina did grow emotional when asked in her news conference if her parents would be proud, tearing up before joking: “You wanted to see emotion! I kept it too long.”
‘Kazakhstan believed in me’
Moscow-born Rybakina has represented Kazakhstan since 2018 when she first focused on turning professional.
The All England Club did not allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete at this year’s tournament in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Rybakina has repeatedly credited the Kazakh tennis system with allowing her to develop as a player and spoken of her pride in representing them at Grand Slams and the Olympics.
The president of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation was in her support box on Saturday and the country’s president also congratulated her on social media.
However, Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpischev claimed the victory for the sport in his country, telling Russian news agency Ria Novosti: “It is very nice! Well done Rybakina! We win Wimbledon.”
Rybakina, however, said: “From my side I can only say that I’m representing Kazakhstan. I didn’t choose where I was born.
“People believed in me. Kazakhstan supported me so much. Even today I heard so much support. I saw the flags.”
