The Duchess of Cambridge charmed Wimbledon staff and junior players as she attended the women’s singles final.
The 40-year-old royal is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and was present at Centre Court on Saturday (09.07.22) for the final between Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina and Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, with Rybakina winning in three sets to claim her first Grand Slam title.
Before the final, Catherine spoke with two semi-finalists in the junior championships – the British player Isabelle Britton, 14, and Carel Ngounoue, 13.
Carel said: “It’s definitely an honour to meet her, it’s great to have this opportunity to meet someone so important.”
The duchess also had conversation with two staff members at Wimbledon – Rachael Williams and Dave Tulloch – and thanked them for going above and beyond at the tournament.
Catherine told them: “What an amazing event to be a part of.”
The royal presented the trophies to both the winner and the runner-up but the move sparked controversy as Rybakina was born in Russia before switching her allegiance to Kazakhstan. Both Russian and Belarusian players had been banned from playing at Wimbledon in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Rybakina had confessed before the match that it would be “an honour” to meet the duchess.
The 23-year-old sports star said: “It’s an honour and I’m going to be very excited for this moment no matter if I win or lose. I think it’s just something to remember and it’s going to be amazing.”
A post on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Kensington Royal Twitter account read: “A beautiful day for a brilliant match.
“Congratulations to both players but also to all the unsung heroes that make this tournament what it is.
@Wimbledon you make us proud each and every year! (sic)”