Elena Rybakina has reacted strongly to suggestions Russia will try politicising her Wimbledon title triumph, insisting she has been representing Kazakhstan for several years now. The 23-year-old switched allegiances from Russia to Kazakhstan in 2018 after the Kazakh Tennis Federation promised to back her finanicially.
She had been tipped as a future star on the WTA Tour during her teenage years but it was in 2020 when she truly made her breakthrough before representing Kazakhstan at last summer’s Olympics where she lost in the bronze medal match. With top seeds falling at Wimbledon this summer, Rybakina found a route through to the final with impressive wins over Ajla Tomljanovic and Simona Halep among others.
Throughout the Championships, Rybakina was asked about her affiliation to Russia having been born in Moscow back in 1999. Wimbledon took the controversial decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s Championships due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
But as Rybakina plays under Kazakhstan’s flag, she was allowed to play and seemingly hasn’t had any ties with the Russian Tennis Federation. Despite her current citizenship, Russia have appeared to try and claim Rybakina’s success at Wimbledon this summer as their own.
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