The Duchess of Cambridge handed the Wimbledon trophy to Russian-born Elena Rybakina in an embarrassing end for organizers.
The All England Club was fined six figures for banning Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament this year and lost ranking points from Wimbledon. Their bold stance against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was partly an attempt to avoid the repugnant image of royalty handing the winner’s trophy to Russian players, but it turned out to be futile.
Wimbledon’s worst fears were realized when Moscow-born and raised Kazakhstan’s Rybakina became the unlikely women’s champion after beating Anse Jabir 3-6 6-2 6-2.
She was handed the Venus rosewater dish by the club’s royal patron, the Duchess, in a moment that the Russian regime will relish.
The 23-year-old Rybakina changed her nationality only four years ago to benefit from better financial support from the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation. While she insisted this week that she was proud to be Kazakhstan’s first Grand Slam finalist – and now champion – her family still lives in Moscow.
The president of the Russian Tennis Federation said this week that he “supports her,” and former Russian player Andrey Chesnokov told local media “let’s congratulate the royal family, they will have to congratulate someone from Russia.
Rybakina referred to the experience of playing in front of the British Royal Family during the winner’s speech on the Central Court.
“Thanks to the Royal Box, it was incredible to play in front of you,” she said.
Rybakina added, “I was very nervous before the match. I’ve never felt like this before. Thank you so much to the crowd for their support during these two weeks.
“I want to thank Anse for a great game and for everything you’ve achieved. I think you are an inspiration to everyone. You had a great race, it was a pleasure to play against you and I learned a lot today.
“It’s true, I didn’t expect to be in week two. It’s fantastic to be a winner. I can’t express in words how happy I am.”