Three Ukrainian female tennis players, Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, and Dayana Yastremska, have reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, one of the Grand Slam tournaments, for the first time ever, Suspilne Sport reported on Jan. 20.
The Grand Slam tournaments, which include the Australian Open, Roland Garros (unofficially known as the French Open), Wimbledon, and US Open, are the most prestigious individual tennis competitions.
Seven female tennis players from Ukraine started in the main draw of the Australian Open 2024. Four of them — Svitolina, Lesia Tsurenko, Kostyuk, and Yastremska — advanced to the third round of the tournament, breaking the national record at this stage, according to Suspilne Sport.
In her third-round match, Tsurenko lost to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, reigning champion and second seed.
Previously, only two female Ukrainian tennis players — Alona Bondarenko and Svitolina — reached the fourth round of the Australia Open, but they didn’t do it simultaneously, Suspilne Sport wrote. Svitolina is Ukraine’s top-ranked tennis player.
Now, Ukraine has the world’s largest representation in the fourth round of the Australia Open-2024 women’s grid, according to Suspilne Sport. The Czech Republic and the U.S. rank second.
Official: Russia’s full-scale invasion has killed over 400 Ukrainian athletes
Some in Russia have complained about supposed unfairness of only being able to compete without the Russian flag, said Vadym Gutzeit, the head of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee. “We’re losing people… Is that fair to us?” he added.
