Wimbledon 2022 LIVE: Elena Rybakina defeats former champion Simona Halep in straight sets in semifinal

Rybakina will now face another first-time Grand Slam finalist, No.3 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, for the Wimbledon title on Saturday. Jabeur leads their head-to-head 2-1, with Rybakina winning their first encounter in 2019 but Jabeur taking both meetings last year.

World No.23 Rybakina, who becomes the youngest Wimbledon finalist since Garbine Muguruza in 2015, is seeking her third career singles title, but her first in two-and-a-half years.

Great groundstroke depth, ending with a winning forehand, gave Rybakina an immediate break for 2-0. Halep fended off the next four break points she faced, but she was never able to pull back on serve, and Rybakina swept to the one-set lead.

Halep hit three double faults in her first service game of the second set, but she finally broke Rybakina at love to level the set at 2-2. However, more aggressive rally play by Rybakina in the next game brought her another break point, where Halep double faulted again.

Rybakina rolled to victory from there, slamming her fifth ace of the day to close out a hold for 5-3. Halep let a 40-15 lead slip away when serving to stay in the match, and Rybakina went on to convert her first match point with a backhand return winner.