“In general, it’s tough to play. But after two years (of war in Ukraine) you get to manage already how to deal with all the emotions and with everything that is going on inside.” Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska, following her fourth-round upset of former Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, on the challenge of playing tennis during the war Russia is waging on her homeland.

The mention of Yastremska’s name before last weekend might have invoked one of two questions: “Who is she?” (from the casual fan) or, from a more dedicated follower of the game, “Whatever happened to Dayana Yastremska?”

The answer encompassing both questions is that Yastremska is a 23-year old whose promising career (she was ranked as high as No. 21 in 2020, at age 19) was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Soon thereafter, she embarked on a long and ultimately successful struggle to reverse a doping suspension that caused her to miss the first two majors of 2021.

Yastremska has struggled since then, her ranking hovering around the No. 100 mark. But here she is, a star at the Australian Open, in yoke with fellow Ukrainian quarterfinalist Marta Kostyuk. Both women, along with five other compatriots who were in the main draw led by Elina Svitolina, are pounding tennis balls with an urgency born of the devastation being wrought on Ukraine by Russia. For these women, the conflict has been a crucible.