Ukrainian tennis player Yuliia Starodubtseva reached her first WTA final, defeating one of the tournament favorites. In the semifinal, she beat American Madison Keys in straight sets.
This was reported by Suspilne Sport.
The match ended 6–1, 6–4 in favor of the Ukrainian and lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes. Starodubtseva converted six of eight break points, while her opponent converted two of two.
This was the first WTA semifinal of Starodubtseva’s career. She reached this stage after defeating American McCartney Kessler in the quarterfinal.
In the final in Charleston, Starodubtseva will face top seed Jessica Pegula, who defeated Iva Jovic in the other semifinal. The final match is scheduled for April 5.
This victory became the second highest-ranked win of her career. It also marked her first appearance in a WTA final, as her previous best result at this level was a quarterfinal.
In addition, Starodubtseva became the third Ukrainian player in 2026 to reach a WTA final, following Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina.
In the live WTA rankings, she rises to 53rd place — a career-high.