Elena walks away with trophy

Wimbledon (London): Elena Rybakina showed that the underdog can bark and bite. On a warm Saturday afternoon, with the entire Centre Court against her, the 23-year-old from Kazakhstan showed pluck and poise to outgun Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the ladies singles final.

Just 23 years of age, and standing tall at six feet, Elena took on not just the World No. 2 but thousands of fans at Wimbledon who were against her. The reason, Elena was born in Russia but holds a Kazakhstan passport now for many years.

Sports teaches tolerance and sports also teaches one not to be biased. Just because Britain is supporting Ukraine in the war it did not mean fans had to be against Elena.

Maybe, despite coming from the rich, upper class, the men and women at Centre Court lacked etiquette. They were booing Elena, a player who was not given a ghost of a chance against Ons Jabeur.

There was just one way for the eventual champion to respond. Let her racquet do the talking and not get intimidated by lack of fan support. Ons Jabeur has been the favourite for many reasons. Rankings, her rise and where she comes from, Tunisia, in North Africa, and being an Arab woman

To be sure, both the players were in their maiden final at Wimbledon and deserved equal credit for reaching here. No, the Centre Court was unsporting and was hoping Elena would lose just because she was born in Russia.

For Wimbledon to have blocked out all players from Ukraine and Russia for this year's event has come under huge criticism.

Worse, for someone to have been born in Russia and then play tennis for another country is not blasphemy. A certain Martina Navratilova, multiple champion at Wimbledon, was born in Czechoslovakia, now split into Czech and Slovakia Republics. She then moved to the US. Much later, champion Maria Sharapova, another Russian, became a US citizen.

Elena was treated shabbily by fans inside the arena but she treated her millions of fans on television to tennis which shone like sparkling wine. She was hungry and she was eager. All that she needed to do was not get psyched out by stuff over which she had no control.

Ons Jabeur was certainly the bigger player on court. She came out firing on all cylinders in the first set, riding on the support of raucous fans. For her to keep the momentum going was not going to be so easy.

Elena may have looked like a fish out of water in the first set. Once she settled down, more mentally, she churned out sublime stuff. Her tennis was as attractive as the single piece white outfit she wore. Elena covered the court with elan, punched her shots with weight and showed the willingness to change her game.

For her, hard groundstrokes are bread and butter in professional tennis. That's the way she has been groomed. Yet, it needed a change in appearance to get going. And the change came in the form of her approach to challenging Jabeur, who was more bulky.

Elena's on-court presence grew stronger from the second set. The early hesitancy had been wiped out. The forehand was heavy artillery and the double grip backhand executed like a laser-guided missile. Yet, that was not enough. She knew she had to make the sorties to the net as well.

Not a natural player in terms of volleying, she used her reach, thanks to her wingspan and took flight to the next level. The crowds got even more partisan. Even after Elena had broken Jabeur for a lead in the second set, she was facing flak.

Perhaps, the stiffest test of character, mental strength and showing a killer instinct came in the sixth game of the second set. She was staring down the barrel, facing a triple break point. No worries. Elena showed she was not going to let it go from such a wonderful stage. Her inner strength and monk-like serenity came to the fore. Pronto, Elena saved the break and then started racing ahead.

All of a sudden, the 23-year-old Kazakh girl, a country which has never produced a Grand Slam champion in tennis before, started resembled a superstar. To borrow Formula One lingo, she was now in pole position, teasing her opponent with pace and not giving her any space.

The way Elena covered the court with feline grace and conjured up angles in her shots-making would have done a student of geometry proud. Poor Jabeur, if cheering alone could have lifted her to the title, she may have won.

This was Centre Court, where not an inch is given. There was no free point coming her way and she even ran out of "challenges" where a player can ask for replays. Finally, when Elena Rybakina emerged champion, she was still composed. No jumping on court or screaming. She shook hands with her opponent and then walked to her chair.

In minutes, she raced to the far corner of the stadium, hugged her support team. It was pure emotion and sheer joy, Elena, youngest champion at Wimbledon after 2011, to hold the Venus Rosewater Dish, the ultimate symbol of

supremacy!