Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska claimed she is on a “mission” for her embattled homeland after storming within two wins of emulating Emma Raducanu. The Ukrainian became only the second qualifier to reach the last four of the Australian Open in the Open era by beating Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-3 6-4.
Yastremska, who wore a blue and yellow dress, then wrote on a courtside TV camera: “I’m proud of our fighting people from Ukraine.” Her fellow Ukrainians Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk also used their runs into the second week here to draw media attention back to their war-ravaged country nearly two years after the Russian invasion.
And the world No. 93 now wants to continue her tennis campaign Down Under when she takes on Anna Kalinskaya or Qinwhen Zheng in the second semi-final on Thursday. “It was about the Ukrainian fighters, and I’m very proud of them,” she said about her message written in Ukrainian.
“They really deserve huge respect. I always try to write something for Ukraine, about Ukraine. I think it’s my mission here. If I do well – it’s tough to express. I’m just trying to give the signal to Ukraine that I’m really proud of it.”
Ukrainian Yelyzaveta Kotliar, 16, said she was “deeply sorry” after shaking hands with her Russian opponent after her first round defeat in the juniors. Ukrainian players have made the protest against Russian and Belarusian players since the start of the war.
The Ukrainian Tennis Federation (UTF) described the moment as an “unpleasant incident” while her father Konstantin Kotliar released a statement saying: “It was definitely a mistake that Liza regrets and assures us that she will never allow anything like that to happen again.”
Yastremska, who beat Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round, said: “Ukrainians, we have our position. I’m sure that she stands by Ukraine, and I’m sure that she just got too emotional and confused.”
Odessa-born Yastremska is only the fifth female qualifier in the Open era to reach a Grand Slam semi-final and only the second here after Christine Dorey in 1978. Raducanu, then 18 and ranked world No. 150, won 10 matches without dropping a set when she won the 2021 US Open title.
“It’s nice to make history,” said the first Ukrainian to make the semis here. “It’s something new for me and for my generation because the last time it happened it was a long time ago. I wasn’t born yet. It’s nice. I’m really happy to be in my first semi-finals.”
Yastremska, 23, became the first woman born this century to enter the top 100 in the rankings and she reached world No. 21. She was banned for six months after failing a drug test for a banned substance in November 2020 but the suspension was lifted the following year after an appeal ruled she “bore no fault or negligence” for the positive test result.
“I think that I have a dream since I’m a child, and that’s what was moving me forward no matter what happens,” she said. “I had a lot of difficult situations, and I don’t want to talk about it right now. Maybe some other time I can explain it, and the story will sound completely different. But for now I can say that I am relaxed and I try to enjoy what I’m doing.”
