Entering the great history of tennis is not something every day. The Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska (93rd in the WTA ranking) is in the semifinals of the Australian Open and only two matches separate her from a Grand Slam title.
Why is what you are achieving so important? She is only the fifth player since the creation of the Open Era to reach the semifinals of any Grand Slam coming from the qualy. Only one could be champion: Emma Raducanu.
Dayana Yastremska is dreaming awake in Melbourne. EFE/EPA
But… Who is the tennis sensation of the moment? Yastremska was born in Odessa, the third largest city in Ukraine 23 years ago. She started playing tennis thanks to her grandfather, who introduced her to the passion for this sport when she was only 5 years old.
“I chose tennis because it is very hard and beautiful. I love working and I want to write my story in tennis. When I was young I had to sacrifice many things, but now I have no regrets. “I have to thank my parents because if they hadn’t pushed me, I don’t think I would have the life I have now.”
She stood out from a very young age, and after achieving great results in Juniors, she quickly made the step to professional. She became the first woman born in the 2000s to enter the Top 100 (July 2018).
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So far, she has three WTA titles (Hong Kong 2018; Hua Hin and Strasbourg 2019) and reached her best ranking (No. 21) in January 2020.
However, 2021 would be a turning year in his short career: On January 7, it was announced that she had tested positive for Mesterolone, a substance banned in tennis, and would be provisionally suspended.
From the first moment, Yastremska denied the accusation and on June 22, more than five months later, the ITF ruled that had “no fault or negligence” for the positive test result and the sanction would be lifted with immediate effect.
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The truth is that it had not been able to recover the level it had previously… until 2024 arrived. Determined to take the reins of her young career again, Yastremska dreams of earning a place in history.
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