Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur's history making march to the Wimbledon women's finals ended in defeat Saturday to Elena Rybakina.
Russian-born Rybakina, who has adopted Kazakstan as her home since 2018, downed Jabeur, the first African woman to reach Wimbledon's ultimate match, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Rybakina's new flag raised some discussion, as Russian contenders were disinvited from this year's Wimbledon matches because of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Her victory was one for the World Tennis Association books - only one other lower-ranked player has ever taken the Wimbledon trophy, Venus Williams, ranked 31 in 20907. Rybakina, until Saturday, had been ranked #23.
Rybakina told Jabeur after the match "You have an amazing game, and I don't think we have someone like this on tour."
The Tunisian returned the compliment, saying "She deserved this. Hopefully next time will be mine."
Jabeur added "I'm really happy that I'm trying to inspire many generations from my country. I hope they're listening."
