'Hardest of my life': Ukraine star's sad admission after win
Ukrainian tennis world No.129 Dayana Yastremska has been through an ordeal few on the WTA tour could comprehend in the last week.
Having fled Ukraine alongside her 15-year-old sister at the behest of their parents amid Russia's invasion of their home country, Yastremska was eventually able to make her way to France, where she is competing in the Lyon Open.
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Incredibly, the 21-year-old has taken to the court despite spending two days sheltering in an underground carpark last week, winning her first round match in an emotional show against Russia's Ana Bogdan.
The pair played out a thriller which Yastremska eventually won, with the Ukrainian breaking into tears after the 3-6 7-6 7-6 victory.
It was what happened next that really captured the attention of tennis fans, with Bogdan praised for her show of support and sportsmanship towards Yastremska.
The two embraced at the net, with Yastremska then donning a Ukrainian flag she had in her bag.
Soon after the match Bogdan made a post to Twitter thanking Yastremska for the match and calling for Russia to cease the invasion of Ukraine.
I had to carry all this inside of me and her story. Their story. I encouraged myself and I was happy when I did some great shots," she wrote.
"And I wanted to win because this is competition, but in the same time I felt it’s not fair. I had to see things beyond a tennis match. And I wanna say we should never forget that before anything else we are humans, we should care about each other and be kind to one another.
"I can only imagine what she and her sister, her family are going through and yesterday she deserved it! We’ve had such a great match and we were both so close to win, one point here or one point there and it could go my way or her way. In the end it all went her way.
"She deserved the win, for herself, for her family and for her country. She is so strong and powerful human at only 21.
“I wore white for peace. I am for peace. And I want all this nightmare to stop. Because we should all live in peace, love and light."
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The pair were also praised by fans on social media for their show of sportsmanship.
After the first-round win, the 21-year old Ukrainian said it had been difficult to focus on the game at times.
“I’m happy that I won for my country, but at the same time I’m very sad,” Yastremska said.
“My heart stays at home, and my mind is fighting here, so it’s very difficult to find the concentration, to find the balance.
“This win, compared to what’s going on in my country, is nothing. But I’m happy, at least, I’m also fighting for my country. I’m really proud of the Ukrainians and they’re really heroes. I hope everything is going to finish soon.”
Yastremska followed up an emotional win on Wednesday, where she draped herself in the Ukrainian flag, by making it through to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-3 win over Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa.
"Today definitely was a little bit easier with my emotions," Yastremska said on the WTA Tour website. "I could keep them under control, so I'm very happy with that.
"Yesterday I tried to recover myself as fast as possible to prepare for my match, and I'm still very nervous because I really want to win the matches for my country. This tournament is very emotional for me, but I'm very happy with the win.
"To be honest, I'm very happy that I'm here, that I'm in a safe place with my sister, and I'm happy to do the thing that I love, playing tennis.
"Every point that I'm playing here, I'm enjoying a lot, and especially with the situation that we have now, I'm enjoying it like a thousand times more. I'm going to try my best to win my next match."
With AAP
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