Wimbledon Champion Elena Rybakina Donates Prize Money To Two Causes - UBITENNIS
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Wimbledon Champion Elena Rybakina Donates Prize Money To Two Causes

The recently-crowned Grand Slam champion is investing some of her earnings into worthy causes.

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The shock run by Elena Rybakina to the Wimbledon title has significantly boosted her prize money earnings but she is keen to give some of that back to those in need.

The 23-year-old scored back-to-back wins over Simona Halep and Ons Jabeur en route to her first Grand Slam title at The All England Club. Going into Wimbledon, she had only reached the quarter-final stage of a major once and defeated a top 10 player on the grass once. Unfortunately for the Kazakh she will not receive a boost in the rankings due to the removal of points from the tournament but has earned £2M in prize money. 

 

Rybakina was also offered a bonus from the Kazakh Tennis Federation as a reward for her historic achievement. She is the first Kazakh player in history to win a major title. However, Rybakina rejected the prize and instead asked for that money to be invested into the junior program. Speaking to reporters earlier this week, she also confirmed that part of her prize money will be allocated to an animal charity.

First of all, of course, I would like to help the juniors, most of it (money) will go to them. And the second important point for me: I was at the shelter, and I was very much moved by it, so I would like to allocate money for the animal shelter,” The Astana Times quoted Rybakina as saying. 

Speaking further about the junior Tour, the world No.23 describes herself as one of the lucky players who have managed to move successfully onto the Pro Tour. As a junior she reached a high of No.3 and reached the semi-final stage of two Grand Slam girls tournaments.

“The transition from juniors to an adult professional career is very difficult. Besides the fact that you have to have a good team around you, not everyone is able to continue at the professional level and only a few people reach the top. I’ve been very lucky in that respect,” said Rybakina.

Some have argued that Rybaina’s win at Wimbledon was also a triumph for Russia who was banned from participating in the tournament due to the war in Ukraine. She was born in Moscow and still has family living in the country but switched her allegiance to Kazakhstan roughly four years ago. Something other players have also done in the past.

“At that moment, which was almost five years ago, it so happened that I had an acute question: what to do next? I was about 17-18 years old. I had to decide whether I would try to play and stay in professional sports or go studying,” she explained.

“We found each other, and at the end of the day, I am very happy that my journey continues exactly with Kazakhstan. History is happening together thanks to Kazakhstan. Thank you very much for your support.”

Rybakina is now preparing for the upcoming North American hardcourt swing. Besides Wimbledon, she has won two other Tour titles and been ranked as high as 12.

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Hamad Medjedovic moves to 2-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Hamad Medjedovic edged past Luca Van Assche 4-2 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 to move to 2-0 In Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah one day after winning a marathon five-set match against Alex Michelsen. 

 

Medjedovic broke serve in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve and saved two break points in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2. 

Van Assche saved three break points at 2-2 before breaking serve in the sixth game  with a running forehand pass to seal the second set 4-2. 

Medjedovic earned a break point in the first game of the third set, when Van Assche made a double fault. Van Assche saved them to hold on his serve. Both players held on serve en route to a tie-break. Van Assche raced out to a 5-1 lead. Medjedovic won three consecutive points to claw his way back to 4-5. Van Assche earned three set points at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6, but Medjedovic won the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7. 

Medjedovic left the court for nine minutes for a bathroom break. 

Medjedovic broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. When he was serving out the match, he saved three break points as he closed out the win with two unreturned serves. 

“For sure the tie-break changed a lot of things in this match. He had three set points. I stayed focused on the important points. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, and I am glad that I won the tie-break”, said Medjedovic. 

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Abdullah Shelbayh upsets Alex Michelsen to win his first win at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Jordan’s wild card Abdullah Shelbayh beat world number 97 Alex Michelsen 4-2 1-4 4-0 4-0 to clinch his fourth top 100 win. Shelbayh moves to 1-1 in Red Group. 

 

Shelbayh hit 26 winners, including seven aces. The Asian player will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in his third round robin match. 

Shelbayh earned the first break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The wild card held his next two service games at 30 to close out the first set 4-2. 

Michelsen, who reached the ATP 250 final in Newport last summer, broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead, when Shelbayh made a backhand error. 

Michelsen earned a break point in the first game of the third set, but Shelbayh saved it with an ace. The Jordanan player held serve before breaking serve to close out the third set 4-0. Shelbayh won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the fourth set 4-0. 

“Having the opportunity to play here now to finish here, I could not ask for a better end to the year. I appreciate all the support throughout the week that I have been receiving already, throughout the year and from the Arab world especially. It makes me happy to represent my country. There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on you shoulders when you are representing your country and the region you come from”,said Shelbayh. 

Shelbayh improved his ATP ranking from world 470 to 185. His tennis idol is Rafael Nadal. Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal for more than five years. Toni Nadal flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13 years old to recruit him to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He became the first Jordanan player to win a main-draw ATP Tour match last April against Elias Ymer in Banja Luka. 

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Arthur Fils eases past Flavio Cobolli to move to 2-0 at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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World number 36 Arthur Fils eased past Flavio Cobolli 4-1 4-2 4-2 in 59 minutes to move to 2-0 in Green Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. Fils won 72% of his first service points and fired five aces. 

 

Fils saved a break point in the first game on the deciding point. The Frenchman broke serve in the second game and rallied from 0-30 down to hold serve in the third game. 

Fils served out the first set 4-1 with a hold at love. 

Cobolli made a double fault at 30-30 in the first game of the second set, but Fils broke serve when Cobolli hit his backhand into the net. 

Cobolli saved a break point with an ace on the deciding point in the third game. Fils won his next two service games with ease to seal the second set 4-2. The Frenchman dropped two points on serve in the second set.

Fils earned an early break in the first game of the third set. Cobolli broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Fils broke for the second time at love in the third game with a backhand down the line return winner and sealed the win on his second match point. 

Fils, who beat Luca Nardi in five sets in his opening match, will face Dominic Stricker in his third round-robin match. 

“I played very nice today. I served very good, and I was moving well on the court, so I am very happy with it. Tomorrow I have a good match against a great opponent. He already beat me once this year, so let’s what I can do”, said Arthur Fils. 

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