Down a set and struggling in her first Wimbledon quarter-final against an inspired opponent, Elena Rybakina shrugged off her early nerves and recovered to bulldoze her way into her first grand slam semi-final, ending with a supreme serving performance to defeat Australia’s Alja Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on No 1 Court.
By breaking new ground at Wimbledon, Rybakina, the 17th seed, is the first Kazakh player to reach a grand slam semi-final in either the men’s or women’s singles events.
Rybakina was born in Russia and represented the country until 2018, when she decided to represent Kazakhstan after she was offered more support in her career.
Rybakina had previously reached one grand slam quarter-final, beating Serena Williams en route to what was previously a career-best result at the French Open last year.