For a long time, the exclusion of Russian professionals determined the debate about Wimbledon, now the lawn classic also ended with a political note. Russian-born Yelena Rybakina won the title for Kazakhstan. The winner now has to put up with sensitive political questions.
At the thought of her parents, Elena Rybakina still showed great emotions. After the suppressed joy at the surprising Wimbledon triumph on the pitch, the Russian-born suddenly burst into tears at the press conference in the evening – the 23-year-old, on the other hand, answered questions about Russia and Vladimir Putin stoically. “From my side I can only say that I represent Kazakhstan. I didn’t choose where I was born,” said Rybakina, who has represented Kazakhstan since 2018.
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Because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, professionals from Russia and Belarus were excluded from Wimbledon. The debate that top players like Daniil Medvedev were missing and that the ATP and WTA organizations did not award world ranking points as a reaction, dominated the headlines for a long time before the tournament.
The fact that a player from Moscow won the women’s competition also gave the tournament a political note at the end. “Wimbledon ended with the very image it had so desperately tried to prevent,” wrote Britain’s Telegraph, outlining the moment Duchess Kate presented the Venus Rosewater Dish to Rybakina as a trophy. “This women’s final produced a photo opportunity that had everyone at the Russian Embassy in London roaring with laughter over their glasses of vodka.”
After her three-set final win against Tunisian Ons Jabeur, Rybakina was asked again if she condemned Russia’s war of aggression and Putin’s actions. But instead of making a clear statement at this point and distancing herself from Putin, she dodged it. “People believed in me. Kazakhstan supported me so much. Also today there was so much support, I saw the flags,” she replied. And further: “I don’t know how to answer these questions, my English is not that good”. This answer was difficult for some media to understand, after all Rybakina had proven that she spoke the language well. Obviously an attempt to escape from the delicate situation.
After reaching the semi-finals, she was asked about the war and said that she wanted it to be over as soon as possible. Here, too, she obviously shies away from clearly distancing herself from the aggressive war of the Russian ruler Putin. However, there was also criticism of the reporters’ constant questions about Putin at Wimbledon. It should be borne in mind that Rybakina and her family may face consequences if she speaks too aggressively.
Rybakina emphasized that she was “grateful” to Kazakhstan for everything. When asked if she feared her victory in Russia could be used politically, she replied: “I don’t know what’s going to happen. There will always be some news, but I can’t do anything about it.”
Their victory was promptly accepted by the Russian side as well. Rybakina received congratulations from Russia for her victory. “We have contributed a lot to their development,” Shamil Tarpishchev, head of the Russian Tennis Union, told the Russian newspaper “Sport-Express”. “Is there any grudge against you? no This is sports. Everyone chooses their own way. That is their right.”
Like several other top professionals, Rybakina had changed nations long before the war, partly because of the prospect of greater funding. She hugged the President of the Kazakh Tennis Association, Bulat Utemuratov, in the stands. The head of state of the Central Asian country, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, congratulated from a distance on a “historic victory” and the first Grand Slam singles title for Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, has been among those that has not publicly condemned Russia’s actions since the beginning of the war. The country abstained in a United Nations vote in March, while a majority of UN member states voted to condemn Russia’s invasion of the country Ukraine agreed. The background; Kazakhstan is economically and politically heavily dependent on Moscow.
However, Head of State Tokayev recently made people sit up and take notice. Sitting next to Putin at an economic forum, he was asked by the state broadcaster RT, which is loyal to the Kremlin, how he felt about the special military operation in Ukraine. He said his country has good reasons not to attack Taiwan, Kosovo, Abkhazia or South Ossetia. And this principle also applies to quasi-state areas such as Donetsk and Luhansk. Since the beginning of the war, Russia has completely occupied the two Ukrainian provinces and sees them as independent “people’s republics”.