Elena Rybakina's father in startling confession after Wimbledon triumph
The father of Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has admitted the star nearly quit tennis six months ago before a dramatic turnaround in her burgeoning career.
Rybakina stunned the tennis world after upsetting Ons Jabeur in the final to lift her maiden grand slam final at SW19.
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The 23-year-old has jumped up to World No.25 after her victory, but has taken time to adapt to the hard courts ahead of her US Open campaign.
However, her father has admitted the grand slam winner was close to quitting tennis and had stopped training before Wimbledon.
Speaking to Russian newspaper Sport Express, Andrey Rybakin claimed she was close to quitting and had lost focus.
"When she was little, she once said to her grandfather the following phrase: 'I want to be the first!' And she goes to this goal. Time will tell," he said.
"It seems to me that she should still surprise everyone with her game. It's good that she is now lowered to the ground.
"She understands everything perfectly and tries. Now she is definitely not going to quit tennis, although she had such moments six months ago."
Her father said she was going through a common issue for tennis players, but was able to bounce back after some support.
"Even just before Wimbledon, it was like that. She could not stand it, she left the competition, we talked with her in the family for five or six days," he added.
"My daughter calmed down and began to train again."
And fortunately, Rybakina returned to the game and went on to become the first Kazakhstan tennis player to win a grand slam tournament.
She is the youngest women's Wimbledon champion since Petra Kvitova in 2011.
Elena Rybakina's controversial grand slam win
Despite the historic achievement, there was some controversy surrounding Rybakina's title triumph in London.
The 23-year-old was born in Moscow and changed allegiances to Kazakhstan several years ago.
However, Rybakina's origins in Russia posed something of an awkward proposition for Wimbledon organisers, who had banned players representing the nation from competing in light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
However Rybakina was plagued with questions about her ties with Russia throughout the tournament, including in her press conference after the final.
The Moscow-born tennis player has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when she left at the age of 19, and no longer lives in Russia.
Unfortunately, Rybakina repeatedly shut down any notion she had ties with Russia throughout her time in the UK and even when she returned to Kazakhstan.
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