Not your grandma's Wimbledon

There's a first time for everything, and the outcome of the women's singles tennis tournament at Wimbledon was certainly that. In an event from which Russian players were banned, a young Russian woman playing under the flag of Kazakhstan today became the champion.

Elena Rybakina (left), a long, lean 23-year-old with serves and baseline shots like cannons, bested Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in three sets. Jabeur, four years older and a good six inches shorter than her opponent, took the first set by forcing Rybakina to play at the net. One drop shot after another frustrated Rybakina, but she righted the ship in the second set by salvaging a few net points and blasting away so that Jabeur couldn't force her into as many of them. The third set was more of the same. It was quite the display of raw, youthful power prevailing over a wily veteran with a huge bag of shots who has clearly benefited from playing her share of doubles.

Jabeur's appearance in the finals was itself a sort of win. A Muslim woman from north Africa, she's not the type you usually see playing before British, and tennis, royalty. Known as the Minister of Happiness, she has become an inspiration to millions, athletes and non-athletes alike. She had to settle for the second-place trophy, but her Wimbledon will be regarded as a landmark moment for years to come.

Rybakina wins the British pound equivalent of around $2.4 million; Jabeur gets half that, around $1.2 million.

The men wrap things up tomorrow morning, with defending champ Novak Djokovic a heavy favorite against the rough-cut upstart Nick Kyrgios of Australia. The two have played each other twice before, on hard courts, in Acapulco and Palm Springs in March of 2017; Kyrgios won both times, and the Djoker did not win a set in either match.