Elena Rybakina recently won the prestigious Wimbledon Championship. Subsequently, the Russian Tennis Federation president, Shamil Tarpishchev, hailed Rybakina’s win as a win for Russia, calling the player a “Russian product”. The 23-year-old Rybakina was born in Moscow and played for Russia until 2018, when financial problems forced her to change her nationality.
Despite the ban on Russian and Belarusian players in Wimbledon, Moscow-born Rybakina was allowed to play. She defeated Ons Jabeur in the finals and claimed her first Grand Slam title. Immediately after her historic triumph, she was embroiled in a lot of controversies after being confronted with questions about her Russian roots.
Rybakina’s father’s response to “Russian Product” comment
Rybakina’s victory also came at a tense time in relations between Russia and Kazakhstan. The Wimbledon winner’s father responded to comments and explained why his daughter stopped representing his country.
“I think that people who depended on something and who could help are now a little sorry,” Andrei Rybakina said in an interview. He also admitted that Rybakina was not interested in negotiating with Russia, because they had decided to look elsewhere for support.
“I had certain exits, and if I had shown more enthusiasm in this direction, something with the help of the Russian Tennis Federation might have come out. But I did not take advantage of these opportunities.” Andrei also revealed that the country’s tennis association did not financially back his daughter.
