Ukrainian tennis player from the Kherson region, Yuliia Starodubtseva, will play in a WTA tournament semifinal for the first time in her career, having advanced there at the Charleston Open in the USA.
This was reported by Suspilne.Sport.
She beat U.S. player McCartney Kessler, who is ranked 53rd in the world. The match ended with the Ukrainian winning in straight sets — 6:4, 6:4.
The match began with an exchange of breaks, after which Starodubtseva won a game on her opponent’s serve for the second time and took the lead. In the end she served out the set confidently.
Kessler started the second set better, leading 2:0, but the Ukrainian responded with a run of four games won and seized the initiative. Despite an unconverted match point at 5:3, Starodubtseva was able to close out the match in the next game on her own serve.
Thus, Yuliia Starodubtseva secured her fourth consecutive victory at the tournament and reached a WTA semifinal for the first time in her career.
Recall, Kakhovka native Yuliia Starodubtseva became the first Ukrainian tennis player, to win a match at a WTA tournament in 2026.
Later Starodubtseva won in the Australian Open 2026 qualifying semifinals and advanced to the final of the qualifying tournament.
But in three sets she lost to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic and was knocked out of the Australian Open.