WIMBLEDON, England — Elena Rybakina, a stoic font of tennis power who surged in early 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic struck, made what you might call a revival Saturday. She won Wimbledon, and even though she reacted with little more than hushed wonder — a slight fist pump, a half-smile, a slight shake of the head, an exhalation — her arrival among Grand Slam champions had its volume.
When the 6-foot Rybakina sorted out the variety and cleverness of 5-6 Ons Jabeur in an interesting 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 women’s final on Centre Court, she became the first player representing Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam tournament, just as Jabeur had become the first Tunisian, first African woman and first Arab woman to grace a Grand Slam final. Rybakina did it with a booming serve and a calming voice.
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