Is this the coldest celebration in Wimbledon history?
Elena Rybakina broke the internet when she won Wimbledon in 2022. We’re also looking back at a classic final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz last year.
Coldest celebration in Wimbledon and tennis history?
The internet went nuts over Rybakina’s apparent non-celebration, which has become her signature after winning matches. Even matches as big as a grand slam final at SW19. The tears eventually came in her post-match press conference where she said “You asked me for emotion.”
Rybakina is among the favourites again in 2024
25-year-old Kazask player Elena Rybakina is ranked fourth in the world and is understandably one of the favourites to lift the Venus Rosewater dish this year. Her game is perfectly suited to grass as she possesses a massive serve and brutally flat and powerful groundstrokes on both wings. In 2022 she came back from a set down in the final to beat Tunisia’s talented shot-maker Ons Jabeur. Jabeur suffered heartbreak again in the 2023 final, going down to unseeded Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets. Vondrousova and Rybakina, both born in June 1999, could meet in the latter stages of 2024’s event.
Russian-born Elena Rybakina powered back from a set down against Ons Jabeur to win the Wimbledon women’s title. Photo: Twitter @Wimbledon
Alcaraz enters Wimbledon in fine form and with good memories
Novak Djokovic had not lost on the hallowed Wimbledon centre court since 2013 and had amassed 91 Wimbledon match wins. That’s until Carlos Alcaraz came along in 2023. Another absurd fact about him is that he was the youngest active Wimbledon men’s champion until Alcaraz, with Nadal and Andy Murray as the other two. How does one even get one’s head around something so ridiculous? The arena of statistics is where Djokovic seems to be especially dominant over his peers, but how about a few of these facts which further illustrate the enormity of this achievement? After his win at Roland Garros just weeks ago, Alcaraz is the youngest man in history to win major events on all three surfaces.
The first of many for Carlitos Alcaraz. Image: @carlosalcaraz / Twitter
ALCARAZ RIPS UP THE RULE BOOK
20 years old at the time, Carlos Alcaraz was the third youngest player to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title, behind only Boris Becker and Björn Borg. He opens the defence of his crown on Monday 1 July against Estonia’s Mark Laja. They start around 14:30 SA time.
Who’s going to win the Wimbledon crown in 2024?