Dayna Yastremska goes from Australian Open glory to straight missile attacks
Ukrainian star Dayna Yastremska dazzled at the Australian Open last month. Despite being a qualifier, he created history by dominating the semi-finals. Amid the ongoing war with Russia, Yastremska gave her countrymen something to cheer about. However, it’s barely been two weeks since the tournament ended and Dayana has already had to survive missile attacks.
The tension of the Ukraine-Russia war has also affected the tennis court. Many Ukrainian players have taken a stand against this by refusing to shake hands with Russians and Belarusians. Dayna herself has been very vocal about this, even urging tennis bodies to take action.
Yastremska flew back to Odessa after her great race in Melbourne, and was greeted by missiles. He shared a harrowing clip on social media when missiles started raining on him.
It was a very difficult and long day for many of our cities…
Here Dayana Yastremska and her family and pets hid in an underground car park at night during Russia’s latest attack on their hometown of Odessa. pic.twitter.com/xXAvXe3khE
– Ukrainian Tennis • BTU (@ukrtennis_eng) 8 February 2024
Dayana was walking her dog when this incident happened. She hid in a parking lot with her family and recorded her ordeal. The sound of incoming missiles startled him and he confessed that it was the scariest night of his life.
“Today is the scariest night for me. I hear more rockets around me than ever before. And we’re still here in the parking lot. People, if we can call you people, can you stop doing this nonsense? she says in the clip.
Dayana Yastremka has suffered the consequences of war, but she is just one voice among many. Her journey at the Australian Open was inspiring, but she is going through a nightmare at the moment.
Dayna Yastremska had her break-out run at the Australian Open
Yastremska is well aware of survival, whether in life or on the court. She had to go through three tough qualifying rounds to make it to the main draw. Once she did this, Dayana never looked back.
Yastremxa defeated Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round. She then followed this up with wins against two-time Grand Slam champions Emma Navarro and Victoria Azarenka. After this, Dayana defeated Linda Noskova and became the first qualifier to make it to the last four in 46 years.
Dayna Yastremska became the first qualifier to reach the women’s singles semi-finals at the Australian Open since 1978.
Fairy tale. pic.twitter.com/cdUwVpxBkC
– The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) 24 January 2024
The Ukrainian player eventually faced Qianwen Zheng, who defeated her in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Zheng crushed Yastremska’s dreams, but the Ukrainian star left her mark on the court.
Dayna Yastremska is a very exciting player. She may not have been able to repeat her success at the Linz Open, but she has a lot to look forward to.
