"I’m begging journalists to cease with the drivel and use their brains by reading the room" - Tennis fans slam journalist for hounding Elena Rybakina about her Russian connections after Wimbledon title

Fans react to Elena Rybakina being asked provocative questions at her Wimbledon press conference.
Fans react to Elena Rybakina being asked provocative questions at her Wimbledon press conference.

Kazakh tennis star Elena Rybakina triumphed at Wimbledon this year by winning the women's event. She beat Ons Jabeur in the final of the showpiece event in three sets.

However, the questions aimed at the World No. 23 in her press conference had very little to do with her triumph or performance. Russian-born Rybakina was questioned about the war between Russia and Ukraine, and Russian President Vladmir Putin's actions.

"Sorry my English isn't the greatest so I didn't understand the second part of the question. But from my side I can only say, I'm representing Kazakhstan and I didn't choose where I was born. People believed in me, Kazakhstan supported me so much. Even today, I heard so many support and I saw the flags so and I don't know how to answer all this question," Rybakina said.

Tennis fans were left infuriated by the journalist's questioning as they believed this was not the time or the place for such questions, and they took to Twitter to make their displeasure known.

One fan pointed out that Chris Evert was never asked questions about America's war with Vietnam when she reigned supreme in the sport.

"Wait … I can’t remember - Did they ask Chrissie if she supportrd the war in Viet Nam?" a fan asked.

Another fan spoke about how Rybakina has been dealing with such questions all tournament long.

"She’s been dealing with this nonstop! At this rate she should just pre-record her response because this won’t be last time she hears this type of question - unfortunately," a user tweeted.

Elena Rybakina's road to Wimbledon triumph

Day Thirteen: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022
Day Thirteen: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

Elena Rybakina emerged victorious at SW19 this year as the Kazakhstan national beat Ons Jabeur in the final in three sets. She dropped just two sets in the entire tournament, which is a testament to her dominance at the grass Slam this year.

En route to the final, Rybakina beat former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep in the semifinals in straight sets. It was a thoroughly power-packed performance in a match between two players with bludgeoning groundstrokes.

Elena Rybakina, whose powerful serve was her biggest weapon at SW19, also beat the likes of Bianca Andreescu, Ajla Tomljanovic, Coco Vandeweghe, Qinwen Zheng and Petra Martic at SW19 this year.

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