Wimbledon have been warned they face huge embarrassment by the prospect of the Duchess of Cambridge “congratulating someone from Russia” on champion Saturday if Elena Rybakina beats Ons Jabeur in the women’s final.

The decision to ban all Russians and Belarusian players from this year’s Championships in response to the invasion of Ukraine was made largely due to the prospect of providing propaganda for Vladimir Putin by the sight of a member of the British Royal Family presenting the famous trophy to one of his country’s athletes.

However, it is being claimed that one may have slipped through the net. Rybakina will walk out on Centre Court on Saturday representing Kazakhstan, the country she adopted in 2018 shortly after her 19th birthday - a decision that was financially motivated to help her career - but that hasn’t stopped Russia from claiming her as one of their own. 

"Lena lives in Moscow, grew up and became a player here," Andrei Chesnokov, the former Russian tennis player who worked with Rybakina, told Russia’s championat.com website. "Let's congratulate the Royal Family, they will have to congratulate someone from Russia.”

Rybakina has done her best to bat away questions about her Russian roots. She has been interrogated more about her nationality than tennis this past week - a theme which visibly irked her after she powered past Simona Halep in her semi-final. “I am really happy representing Kazakhstan. They believed in me. There is no more question about how I feel,” she said.

It is easy to empathise with Rybakina, especially given that she has made her position on the war in Ukraine quite clear. “I just want the war to end as soon as possible and peace,” she said after beating Ajla Tomljanovic to march into the semi-finals, perhaps wishing she could have had a crystal ball when she switched nationalities. She could hardly have predicted how such a decision would be intensely scrutinised four years later.

The 23-year-old’s battle for acceptance could not be further removed from the warmth and adulation that has surrounded her pocket rocket of an opponent, Jabeur, whose trainer and husband, Karim Karoum, a former Russian-Tunisian fencer, has hardly been a focal point throughout her Wimbledon run.

The first African woman to reach a major final since South Africa's Sandra Reynolds at Wimbledon in 1960, Jabeur has enthralled the Wimbledon crowds with her charm and warmth - best epitomised when she embraced supermum Maria Tatjana after beating the German in her semi-final. 

Nicknamed the ‘Minister of Happiness’, she has become a beacon of hope for Tunisians facing economic and political turmoil in the wake of President Kais Saied seizing control of the country. Tunisia’s sports minister, Kamel Deguiche, who will be in attendance at Saturday’s final, has already promised a huge official reception for the 27-year-old when she returns home. 

And there is a growing sense the stars could align for the Muslim third seed, with the final falling on the first day of Eid-al-Adha, the second and biggest of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam. “It’s going to be great. It’s like Christmas for you guys,” said a smiling Jabeur earlier this week.

Never before has there been two first-time major finalists in the Open era whose respective nationalities have added an extra layer of significance to the occasion. What remains to be seen is which one will have their name etched onto the Venus Rosewater Dish.