Dayana Yastremska is the name on everyone’s lips at Melbourne Park after the Ukrainian outsider reached the last four of the Australian Open.
Yastremska, 23, entered the tournament as a qualifier but has taken the competition by storm, beating Victoria Azarenka and Linda Noskova on her way to the semi-finals.
Her confidence has understandably soared as she is two wins away from matching Emma Raducanu’s magical run from qualifier to grand slam champion at the 2021 US Open.
But who is Dayana Yastremska? What is her background? And what has she been doing off the tennis court?
Daily Mail Australia has all the answers.
Dayana Yastremska has reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open
Who is Dayana Yastremska?
Born on May 15, 2000, in Odesa, Ukraine, Yastremska took up tennis at a young age after her grandfather, Ivan, was introduced to the sport.
A multi-talented athlete, Yastremska showed potential in gymnastics and swimming, but chose to focus on tennis from the age of 12.
‘I chose tennis because it is very difficult and beautiful. “I love working and I want to write my new tennis history,” she said.
She quickly showed her potential at the junior level, reaching the girls’ singles final at Wimbledon in 2016, where she lost to Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova.
Yastremska achieved the top 100 ranking in 2018 at the age of 18. A year later, she entered the top 25 and finished the season at a career-high ranking of No. 22.
She has since scaled from the top 30 all the way to the edge of the top 100 before putting together this run.
As a child, the Ukrainian was naturally talented in tennis, gymnastics and swimming
Family life
Yastremska’s father, Alexander, was a volleyball player in his younger years and she has credited him and her mother, Marina, with her success in tennis.
“When I was younger I had to sacrifice a lot of things, but now I don’t regret it,” she said.
“I have to thank my parents a lot because if they didn’t push me at the right time, I don’t think I would have the life I have now.”
Yastremska’s parents have both been part of her coaching journey, with her mother serving as her mental coach.
Marina had to undergo surgery to save her eye during the 2019 Australian Open when a champagne bottle she was holding unexpectedly exploded.
She is the daughter of a former volleyball player and her parents are in her coaching setup
She underwent immediate surgery, which was partially supervised by Stefan Gurov, Elina Svitolina’s agent. Australian Open director Craig Tiley paid the costs of the operation.
After the outbreak of the Russian war in Ukraine, she fled to France with her younger sister Ivanna, leaving their parents behind, before later being reunited with her mother.
‘I think in tennis it’s important to have family close to you. When the war broke out, I was traveling alone with my sister for six months and my parents were at home.’
Music career
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when tennis was at a standstill, Yastremska surprised her fans by launching her music career.
She released her first single – Thousands of Me – in May 2020 before unveiling a dance track titled Favorite Track in August of the same year.
After her quarter-final victory in Melbourne, the Ukrainian teased that she could release another song.
Yastremska launched her music career in 2020 and has teased more songs
“In February I hope to have one new song out,” she said.
“It’ll be three of us, three different countries, that we, you know, brought together and made a beautiful song. I’m not going to talk about it much. You’ll hear it soon, I hope.’
Controversy
Yastremska sparked controversy during the Black Lives Matter movement after posting a series of images on social media in which she wore half-white, half-black makeup.
The post was titled “Equality,” but she received widespread criticism, with many fans accusing her of sporting blackface. She deleted the message, saying her post was “misunderstood.”
She was criticized for this post during the Black Lives Matter movement
Her mission in Australia
Yastremska has spoken at length about the effect of the ongoing war in Ukraine on herself and other Ukrainian players.
After her victory over Noskova, she wrote a message of support for the Ukrainian people on one of the TV cameras.
It read: ‘I am proud of our fighting people from Ukraine.’
She later said: ‘They really deserve a huge amount of respect. I always try to write something for Ukraine, about Ukraine.
“I think this is my mission here. I’m just trying to send the signal to Ukraine that I’m very proud of it.’
