Dayana Yastremska: "My goal is to win a Grand Slam"
Dayana Yastremska talks about her beginnings in tennis, her difficult time during the tournament in Hua Hin and her sporting goals in the video format "My Story" of the WTA .
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 15, 2020, 08:06 am
It was in 2018 when the young Dayana Yastremska's career really got going. The lady from the Ukraine made the jump to the top 100 in the world for the first time in summer, followed in October by the first big highlight in her young career. At the WTA international event in Hong Kong, Yastremska was able to play big, knock out three top 60 players and secured her first title on the WTA tour. The then 18-year-old was able to take this momentum well into the coming season: At the Australian Open she still failed due to Serena Williams, but in Hua Hin Yastremka should not be beat - title number two for the Ukrainian.
2020 also had a first highlight for Dayana Yastremska: After reaching the final at the ATP Premier Event in Adelaide, the now 19-year-old improved to world rank 21 - a new career high. It was by no means decided that the Ukrainian should devote her life fully to tennis: "I did tennis, swimming, dancing, gymnastics and singing, but I wanted to do something where I could put all my energy into it", Yastremska told the WTA. It was her grandfather who brought her to tennis at the time, and she realized that it was something she had a passion for, where she wanted to see herself for once.
Yastremska wins title in Hua Hin despite family problems
Yastremska was going through a difficult time with her second title win in Hua Hin 2019. When she started in Thailand, her mother was in the hospital and could not see with her left eye due to an accident. "My mother is in the hospital and I am standing on the court and hitting balls, that is all I have to do - bring this trophy back to my mother," Yastremska recalls the tournament. The young Ukrainian should win the title in Hua Hin despite the difficult situation - and her mother's injury has also been resolved in goodwill. The doctors had managed to save Yastremska's mother's eye: "But now everything is fine with her and her eyes, she looks better, everything is fine now," said Yastremska at the time.
At 19, Dayana Yastremska has a long career ahead - and she knows it too. Already in the top 25 of the WTA world rankings, she has won over 1.8 million US dollars in prize money. But their hunger for success is far from satisfied: "My goal now is to perfect myself on and off the field, to be more disciplined, to finish in the top 20 and to win a Grand Slam," said Yastremska in the video . So far, reaching the Wimbledon round of 16 last year was the greatest feeling for Yastremska. Nobody doubts that she will end this result soon.