Tennis legend McEnroe questions Wimbledon champ Rybakina's nationality: 'She's Russian...'

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina scripted history on Saturday by winning the women's singles title at Wimbledon, where she beat Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Rybakina became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles title. Rybakina, however, is not originally from Kazakhstan as she was born in Russia and played for the country of her birth throughout her junior career. She switched nationality in 2018 citing a lack of support from the Russian Tennis Federation.

Meanwhile, during the Wimbledon women's singles final on Saturday, questions regarding Rybakina's nationality once again garnered traction as former American tennis icon John McEnroe called her participation "strange" because of the All England Club's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from partaking in the prestigious tournament. Russian and Belarusian players have been banned from Wimbledon due to Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine. McEnroe was commentating for BBC when he called out Wimbledon for letting Rybakina play despite being born in Russia. 

"She is obviously a huge hitter and hits the ball great. I just think it’s weird because of this whole thing. I don’t mean to get into politics here but she is Russian, right? It is sort of strange because of this whole ordeal of not allowing the Russians to play," McEnroe said while commentating for BBC with former French Open winner Sua Barker. 

Barker was quick to respond to McEnroe's controversial comment as she pointed out that there are many players who switch nationalities. Barker defended Rybakina by saying that she played the Olympics and Billie Jean Cup for Kazakhstan. 

"But there are a lot of players who switch nationalities, we had one here ourselves, Cam Norrie from Canada to Great Britain. She played the Olympics and the Billie Jean Cup as well for Kazakhstan," Barker said. 

Rybakina on her nationality

Throughout the competition, Rybakina was frequently questioned about her nationality, but she always responded simply by claiming that she had no control over where she was born. Rybakina has some reason, given she had already changed her nationality way before Russia attacked Ukraine. However, many people also highlighted the fact that Rybakina still has a residence in Russia, where her parents continue to live.  

Image: AP