23-year-old Kazakhstani player, Elena Rybakina, created history yesterday, as she became the first Kazakh player to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championships. In the semi-final, she will face the 2019 Wimbledon Champion Simona Halep, which will be a tough match for her.

Interestingly, in 2018, she changed her nationality from Russian to Kazakh. Recently, she talked about the reason for taking this drastic decision.

Elena Rybakina talks about changing her nationality from Russian to Kazakh

After beating the Australian tennis player Ajla Tomljanovic in the quarter-final, she talked about her emotional journey as a Kazakh player. According to her, she had many offers from universities in America, as her dad wanted her to go abroad for a better future. However, she wanted to play tennis professionally, which looked impossible in Russia. And that’s when the Kazakhstan Federation helped her and promised her financially, as well as provided her with the best facilities.

2022 Wimbledon Championships: Simona Halep vs Elena Rybakina – Preview, Head-to-Head, Prediction

Speaking about this incident, she said, “They (Kazakhstan federation) believed in me. They made everything possible for me to keep playing, keep improving. I had all the conditions to practice and everything. Of course, it helped a lot.”

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“It was very good timing because they were looking for the player. I was looking for some help. They believed in me. So, I think it was very good combination. We just find each other,” she further said.

Notably, Rybakina was representing Russia during her junior days and then changed her nationality to Russian in 2018. Since then, she improved dramatically on the tour, before the pandemic halted her progression. Now, she is 23 in the WTA rankings and already making steady progress on the tour.

Can Rybakina beat Simona Halep to create history at Wimbledon Championships 2022?

Currently, the Russian-born Kazakh player is taking on the Romanian on the Centre Court in the semis at the Wimbledon Championships. Undoubtedly, many picked Halep to win this match. However, the Kazakh player could surprise the Romanian to become the first Kazakh player to reach the final of a Grand Slam tournament. 

Watch This Story: Drama at Wimbledon Championships involving Nick Kyrgios, Dan Evans, Jelena Ostapenko, Simona Halep, and others. 

As of now, Rybakina took the opening set against Halep in the Semi-final match. However, the Romanian is fighting hard in the second set to come back into the match.