Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev personally congratulated Kazakh tennis player Elena Rybakina on Monday on her US Open victory, which elevated her to world number one, and decorated her with the Order of Baris (Third Class), one of the Central Asian republic’s highest honors.
“Your three Grand Slam victories will remain in the history of tennis forever. I assume you will not stop with what you have achieved and will continue your triumphant march forward,” the Kazakh leader stated during a meeting with the athlete, according to the Kazakh Presidential Press Service.
Tokayev celebrated that, following Rybakina’s victories, Kazakh children “are showing great interest in tennis, enrolling en masse in tennis classes, and aspiring to become champions.”
“You are an example for our children, and that is a wonderful thing. Our youth need to engage in sports; this is very important for their future,” he added.
The leader spoke highly of the champion’s qualities both on the court and in her personal conduct, emphasizing their significance when representing Kazakhstan internationally as “a developed, civilized nation that supports sports, and tennis in particular.”
The athlete thanked the head of state for his personal support and the significant attention dedicated to developing tennis in Kazakhstan. She said that she had felt honored to represent the nation on the international stage.
Rybakina, a Moscow-born naturalized Kazakh citizen, defeated Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka on September 11—ending Sabalenka’s 99-week reign as world number one—to become the new queen of world tennis.
For the Kazakh athlete, New York served as the crowning achievement of a highly successful season that began with the Australian Open title, added Stuttgart along the way, and culminated in taking the WTA number one ranking, making her the 30th woman in history to reach the top spot. EFE