'Poker-faced' Wimbledon champ breaks into tears, targets more Slams
LONDON: When the tears finally came, it was a steady stream. Her face coloured and her voice shook. "You wanted to see emotion?" Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina asked. "Kept it too long," she added of the whirlwind swirling inside her.
Much of Saturday evening was spent mulling Rybakina's impassive visage following her maiden Grand Slam victory.
It was a historic moment for the Moscow-born pro's adopted country Kazakhstan for whom she's breaking new ground every day. She had scaled a peak, done justice. Didn't she want to jump up and down? Toss her racket in the air? Rejoice?
Rybakina had been forced to flirt with the edges en route to victory, which had come at the end of a difficult road that saw her change nationalities. Then there were the questions on Russia politicizing her triumph before the query on her parents, who are probably in Moscow because of which she may not be able to see them anytime soon.
The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, headed by Bulat Utemuratov, who sat in Rybakina's box, clearly knows a good thing when they see it. They offered her the financial support Russia wasn't willing to cough up because of which she crossed over in 2018.
The world No. 23's talent - easy power and telling serve - was hitting new decibel levels every week in early 2020, when she made the title round in four of her first five events, winning one tournament. Then Covid happened, hitting some harder than others. Rybakina didn't swing a racket for almost three months and when the tennis tour rolled again, she struggled with injury and illness.
The 23-year-old, who was forced to contemplate the collegiate route to the pros because of financial strains in her early years, is yet to make plans for her £2 million winner's check. "When I started to play tennis I never thought about money. It's a great job because you can make a lot of money, but at the same time I know how expensive it is," she said.
"For me, it was just a joy to play tennis. I was always enjoying it. In the beginning it was just for fun. I never thought I was going to the tournaments. I didn't even know about prize money."
Rybakina, for whom home is the road, said her triumph on Centre Court was a reminder to junior players who may be ignored in their early years, that there is a way to swim to the top. Keep at it.
"I proved that you do not always have to have a great team from a young age, I didn't till the age of 17 and 18. This is the most important thing, that everybody, no matter their financial situation, no matter who they are, they can play and achieve many great results," she said.
