Before the best tennis players had even finalised their preparations for the first grand slam tournament of the year, Dayana Yastremska was already fighting for her survival in the tournament. Through the three qualifying rounds of the Australian Open, the 23-year-old toiled through three tough three-set matches against lowly opponents. She was far from her best as she reached the main draw.
Sometimes in tennis, though, survival is all that matters. Having made it through those pressure-filled qualifying rounds, Yastremska has played with total freedom against far greater opposition. She continued her breakout run on Wednesday with another display of fearless attacking tennis, overpowering Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 to reach her first grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open.
In the wide-open top half of the draw, an opportunity of a lifetime awaits either Yastremska or Zheng Qinwen, the 12th seed, as they play for a spot in the final. In the evening, Zheng remained calm after a difficult opening set before recovering to defeat Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 and also reach her first grand slam semi-final.
Ten years after Li Na became the first Asian player to win the Australian Open, the most inspiring moment in Zheng’s childhood, the Chinese player will look to emulate her hero on the year of Li’s return to Melbourne for the first time since her retirement later that year. Zheng will also rise to the top 10.
After eight wins, Yastremska is the first qualifier to reach the Australian Open semi-finals in 46 years. Only once in the history of professional tennis has a qualifier won a singles grand slam title – Yastremska is now just two wins away from following the lead of Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open triumph.
A relentless attacking player who swings for the fences whenever possible, Yastremska has been dangerous from the first round when she demolished Marketa Vondrousova, the Wimbledon champion and seventh seed, 6-2, 6-1. After edging past the in-form 26th seed Emma Navarro, she toppled Victoria Azarenka, the 19th seed and two-time champion.
Once one of the most promising young players, Yastremska’s performance also signals her first significant run since she tested positive for a metabolite of mesterolone, an anabolic steroid medication derived from testosterone, in January 2021. Yastremska denied that she had wilfully taken the substance. She immediately received a provisional ban before her hearing.
Despite her status, Yastremska opted to fly to Australia during the 2021 edition, where players had to spend two weeks in quarantine aside from training hours. During her two weeks inside her hotel room, Yastremska learned that her urgent applications to have her provisional ban lifted had been denied. The Ukrainian was forced to take the long journey back home.
Six months after her provisional ban began, in June 2021, the ITF announced that Yastremska had been cleared of the doping charges, determining that she had committed No Fault or Negligence. According to the independent tribunal’s written reasons, a heavily redacted document, Yastremska successfully argued that she has been contaminated with mesterolone by her then boyfriend through “kissing” and other redacted activity, hours before she conducted her anti-doping test.
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The Telegraph was forced to publish an apology in June 2022 to Yastremska and her father, Oleksandr Yastremskyy, for an article published a month earlier titled: “Dayana Yastremska accused of attempted cover-up over doping allegations.”
Having been ranked inside the top 30 at the time of her six month provisional ban, returning to the sport and rebuilding her ranking has proven extremely difficult. Yastremska soon exited the top 100 and last year she fell to her lowest ranking since the ban: 158.
“I had a lot of difficult situations, and I don’t want to talk about it right now,” said Yastremska on Wednesday. “Maybe some other time I can explain it, and the story will sound completely different. But for now I can say is that I just, I don’t know, I relaxed. I don’t have much to say. Just relaxed, and I try to enjoy what I’m doing.”
For her efforts this week in Melbourne, a return to the top 30 awaits Yastremska after the finest fortnight of her career. On Thursday, however, both she and Zheng will play for so much more.