Wimbledon banned all Russian players from entering the tournament this year, as a way to punish the Russian government for invading Ukraine. Now that Elena Rybakina is in the final, a player who represents Kazakhstan but was born and still officially resides in Moscow is one step away from winning the prestigious title.
In the past 15 years, Kazakhstan, not typically a tennis country, invested substantial funds into the sport and attracted numerous quality players from the nearby countries of the former USSR, most notably from Russia. Due to the lack of adequate support from the Russian Tennis Federation, Elena Rybakina was one of many players to accept the help and support offered by Kazakhstan, so she switched nationalities when she turned 19, only four years ago, in 2018.