New Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina said she “did not know” how to celebrate her “shocking” victory over Ons Jabeur in the final.
Rybakina beat the Tunisian third seed 3-6 6-2 6-2 to become Kazakhstan’s first Grand Slam singles champion.
The 23-year-old is known for not celebrating victories and simply raised her right arm in the air when she won.
Jabeur later joked that she will have to teach the new major champion “how to celebrate properly”.
Rybakina produced a stunning fightback to beat Jabeur, who was one of the favourites for the title from the beginning.
She raised her racquet to the crowd after the winning moment before heading into the stands to celebrate with her box.
“Maybe one day you will see huge reaction from me, but unfortunately not today,” Rybakina said.
“I didn’t know what to do, it was shocking. It’s too many emotions. I was just trying to keep myself calm.
“When I was giving the speech [on court] I was thinking, I’m going to cry right now, but somehow I held it.
“Maybe later when I’m alone in the room, I’m going to cry non-stop. I don’t know.”
Rybakina did grow emotional when asked in her news conference if her parents would be proud, tearing up before joking: “You wanted to see emotion! I kept it too long.” BBC
