JOHN MCENROE argued that Wimbledon finalist Elena Rybakina is Russian.
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John McEnroe and Sue Barker got into a discussion over Wimbledon finalist Elene Rybakina’s nationality during the BBC’s coverage of the women’s final on Saturday. The Moscow-born player switched allegiances to
Kazakhstan in 2018 and was able to compete at this year’s tournament. Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarussian players from this year’s event following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and had their ranking points stripped as punishment.
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McEnroe and Barker discussed whether Rybakina should be able to compete, despite making the switch to Kazakhstan four years before the ban was enforced. “She is obviously a huge hitter and hits the ball great,” McEnroe said during the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage. “I just think it’s weird because of this whole thing. I don’t mean to get into politics here but she is Russian, right? It is sort of strange because of this whole ordeal of not allowing the Russians to play.”
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Barker replied: “But there are a lot of players who switch nationalities, we had one here ourselves, Cam Norrie from Canada to Great Britain. She played the Olympics and the Billie Jean Cup as well for Kazakhstan.”
McEnroe conceded and praised Barker, who is retiring from broadcasting after Sunday’s final, and urged her to
continue working. “That’s why you have been so good for 30 years,” the American said. “Unbelievable, just one more please! I know what you are saying, and you know what I am saying.”