Wimbledon: Elena Rybakina sets up final showdown with Ons Jabeur, beats Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3

Elena Rybakina defeated 16th seed Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3 to advance to her first-ever Grand Slam final on Thursday. Rybakina will face Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, who became the first African woman, and the first Arab player, to reach a Grand Slam final when she defeated Tatjana Maria in three sets earlier.

The 23-year-old Rybakina is the youngest Wimbledon finalist since 2015 when Garbiñe Muguruza lost to Serena Williams.

Halep, the 2018 French Open champion, had reached the semifinals without dropping a set but was broken early in both sets.

Halep was caught in the crosshairs of an onslaught from the Russian-born Kazakh, who pummelled her Romanian opponent with rasping serves and savage forehands.

Halep, the champion in 2019, did not help her cause, with a string of double faults to hand Rybakina chances at key moments.

The 30-year-old Romanian wasn’t able to defend her Wimbledon title last year — after the 2020 edition was canceled — because of a calf injury.

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