There will be a first-time grand slam champion at Wimbledon after Elena Rybakina powered Simona Halep off the court to set up a final against Ons Jabeur. Two first-time finalists, in fact, but there was no evidence of the relative inexperience of the 23-year-old Rybakina as she took on Halep in a brutal contest of baseline hitting on Centre Court and emerged with the biggest victory of her career so far.
It brings an end to Halep’s 12-match winning streak at the All England Club, a run that stretches back to the 2019 title she was unable to defend last year. While it had looked this week that the former world No 1 was returning to that imperious form, the shocking power of Rybakina’s groundstrokes from the back of the court shattered her resurgence and a crisis of double faults sealed her fate down the stretch.
