A week after fleeing her hometown of Odessa, Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska has reached the final of the WTA tournament in Lyon.
The 21-year-old, who competes in the blue and yellow colors of her country, beat number two seeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea 7: 6 (7: 5), 4: 6, 6: 4. On Sunday, the world number 140 meets China’s Zhang Shuai in her first final since 2020.
“I have to think about what I’m feeling at the moment. I feel like I’m on a cloud and I don’t even realize that I’m in the final,” said the athlete.
Upon arriving in France, Yastremska reported that she was “awakened by bombs” as the Russian attack on Ukraine began.
Her family first sought shelter in an underground car park before Yastremska and her 15-year-old sister left their home country by ship across the Danube to Romania. Her parents stayed behind in Ukraine.