Yuliya Starodubtseva Loses to Jessica Pegula: Ukrainian First in WTA 500 Final

In Charleston, South Carolina, the final of the WTA 500 tennis tournament took place, where Ukrainian tennis player Yuliya Starodubtseva, currently ranked 89th in the world, faced off against the fifth-ranked player, Jessica Pegula. Unfortunately for the Ukrainian athlete, the match ended in defeat; however, she demonstrated a strong game and expressed her satisfaction with her performance throughout the tournament.

After the final, the 26-year-old Yuliya Starodubtseva, originally from Nova Kakhovka, which is currently under Russian occupation, shared her impressions of participating in the decisive match. "It was a good tournament. I am proud of myself because, as I mentioned in previous interviews, I am pleased that I was able to maintain my level, and I am especially satisfied with how I played this week and perhaps the week before in Miami. I feel like I have grown as a player, raised my 'base level,' and now I hope to continue developing," said the tennis player.

Yuliya also shared a humorous remark about her game: "There is a joke about me: I play best when there is a lot of money at stake. They say I play well at the 'thousand' tournaments, and then I come to a 125 and don’t play as well (laughs)." She emphasized that she did not pay attention to the prize money, as it is not her main motivation during matches. "But, of course, it’s nice, and it will really help me feel freer. For example, before this tournament, I was thinking about bringing my physiotherapist, who lives in Australia, with me on trips, which is expensive—especially if I bring him for the European part of the season. Now I feel that such an opportunity is there, and maybe I will take advantage of it," she added.

Starodubtseva also commented on the reasons for her loss to Jessica Pegula, noting the level of her opponent's play. "I really hope that this was her best match of the week because being the only one she beat in two sets throughout the tournament is not very pleasant! (laughs). As I said before, she is one of those tennis players to look up to. I can still learn a lot from Jess. I have to give her credit—she played great. And I feel like I may not have shown the level I maintained all week. Today, I was definitely nervous—this was my first final. I think the last three days I was too 'tense,' I couldn’t sleep well. For me, all of this was at such a scale for the first time, and the thoughts in my head wouldn’t quiet down; they were very loud. But she played well, and all the credit goes to her. It was a great tournament, her second title in a row," Yuliya concluded.

It is worth noting that Yuliya Starodubtseva became the 13th Ukrainian tennis player to compete in a WTA Tour final and the sixth to reach this stage in WTA 500 category events. For her performance in Charleston, she earned $218,000 and will rise to the 53rd position in the world rankings, setting a personal record.

Recall that at the start of the tournament, the Ukrainian achieved victory over Chinese player Zhang Shuai, who is ranked 62nd in the WTA. In the second round, Yuliya defeated Ekaterine Gorgodze from Georgia (ranked 164th in WTA), and in the third round, she overcame Renata Saracua from Mexico (ranked 85th in WTA). In the quarterfinals, Starodubtseva beat 26-year-old American McCartney Kessler (ranked 53rd in WTA) with a score of 6-4, 6-4, and in the semifinals, she confidently passed Australian Open 2025 champion Madison Keys (ranked 18th in WTA) with a score of 6-1, 6-4. Earlier, we reported that two-time Roland Garros champion announced her pregnancy.