After Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk, Ukrainian tennis might just find another WTA icon in Ons Jabeur’s round 1 hurdle at the Australian Open- Yuliia Starodubtseva

A year ago, Yuliia Starodubtseva was as clueless about her career as any other youngster after graduating from Old Dominion University.

Tennis was a viable option, as she had played for the Division 1 women’s team of her university for five years and she gave it a shot. The problem was that she did not even have a WTA ranking. 

Over the last year, Starodubtseva has achieved sensational numbers on the ITF World Tennis Tour. She won four ITF titles and reached the finals of two others.

She finally had a WTA rank of World No. 152. She is currently playing in the Australian Open 2024, her second Grand Slam after the 2023 US Open.

She has made it to the main event of a Slam for the first time after defeating Gabriela Knutson 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) in a dramatic qualifier match. 

Kakhovka in southern Ukraine and started playing tennis at the young age of 5. Her father, Volodymir, used to play as a goalkeeper for a soccer team at one point in his life but wasn’t that big of a soccer player.

The grandmother of current World No. 28, Anhelina Kalinina, was her first-ever tennis coach, whom she met at the age of 15.

Her family was not that financially stable, so moving to the US to study made the most sense instead of going out to play internationally. Thus, Yuliia did just that. However, destiny had other things in store for her. 

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Yuliia Starodubtseva is set to face Ons Jabeur in the first round of the 2024 Australian Open 

The Ukrainian is up for perhaps the most difficult match of her career, as she will face Ons Jabeur in the first round of the 2024 Australian Open.

However, playing in the main event of the Grand Slam is a big enough achievement for the 23-year-old, and she is not concerned about the result right now. 

I don't even know if I'm realizing that this is happening. Thinking back to one year ago when I didn't have a ranking, it feels like a huge accomplishment in a way. It just feels great. Starodubtseva said. 

Ons Jabeur’s performance in the 2023 Australian Open was not that great, and she failed to participate in the tournament the year before that. Thus, the Tunisian would look to improve her record in the Grand Slam this time around.