Who is Dayana Yastremska? Ukrainian tennis star upsets Coco Gauff at Wimbledon

USA Today

2 days ago

Coco Gauff's victory lap was short-lived. Less than one month after the American tennis star won the 2025 French Open, Gauff was knocked out in the first round of the 2025 Wimbledon tournament by Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska.
"It was a great match today. I was really on fire," Yastremska said after her victory Tuesday.
Yastremska downed No. 2 seed Gauff in straight sets, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, on No. 1 Court, ending Gauff's bid for her third major title. Gauff is the fourth woman ranked in the Top 10 to fall in the first round of Wimbledon, following earlier upsets of No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula, No. 5 seed Qinwen Zheng and No. 9 seed Paula Badosa.
Following the loss, an emotional Gauff said she's "obviously disappointed with how the result went today."
"Dayana started off playing strong and I just couldn't find my footing out there today," Gauff added. "I saw the draw and knew it would be a tough match for me."
2025 WIMBLEDON: Coco Gauff suffers upset in first round, loses to Dayana Yastremska
Yastremska entered Wimbeldon ranked No. 46 in the world and is expected to climb up the rankings following her Top-10 victory. Here's everything you need to know about the Ukrainian tennis star:
Where is Dayana Yastremska from?
Yastremska is a 25-year-old player from Odessa, Ukraine, who is currently ranked No. 46 in the world. Yastremska was ranked as high as No. 21 in January 2020 and boasts over 217,000 followers on Instagram. Aside from tennis, Yastremska dabbled in music and released her first single "Thousands of Me" in May 2020.
Fun Fact: Yastremska has a love/hate relationship with grass. Ahead of the Nottingham Open final in June — which Yastremska lost to American McCartney Kessler — Yastremska revealed: "I really love playing on grass, even though I think I have a bit of an allergy to it."
Has Dayana Yastremska won a Grand Slam?
Yastremska has not won a Grand Slam title. Her best finish at a major came during the 2024 Australian Open, where she became the first qualifier since 1978 to reach the semifinals and only the third Ukrainian, female or male, to reach a major semifinal (Elina Svitolina, Andrei Medvedev the others). She was subsequently knocked out of the semifinals by China's Qinwen Zheng.
Yastremska's best result at Wimbledon was a fourth-round exit in 2019.
The Ukrainian star experienced early success at the junior level and was ranked as high as No. 6 in the world after reaching the Wimbledon junior singles final in 2016, before losing to Russia's Anastasia Potapova. "This court brings me a lot of nice memories because I played here at juniors finals, at this court. It gave me a lot of emotions," Yastremska said Tuesday following her upset of Gauff.
Yastremska was suspended by the ITF in January 2021 for testing positive for a metabolite of mesterolone, an anabolic steroid banned by the WDA. The ITF later ruled in June 2021 that Yastremska "bore no fault or negligence" for the positive result, saying it "accepted Ms. Yastremska's account" of contamination. Her suspension was immediately lifted, clearing the way for Yastremska to return to tour.
Dayana Yastremska fled her home during Russian invasion
Yastremska fled from her hometown following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. She previously said she took a boat across the Black Sea with her younger sister, Ivanna, and eventually made it to Romania and then France. Their parents stayed behind in Odessa.
"After spending two nights in the underground parking, my parents made a decision at any cost to send me and my little sister out of Ukraine!" Yastremska wrote on Instagram at the time. "Mom, Dad, we love you very much, take care of yourself!!! I love you my country! Ukrainians take care of your lives."
At the 2022 BNP Paribas Open in March 2022, Yastremska walked onto the court draped in the Ukraine flag.
MORE: Dayana Yastremska, who fled Ukraine during Russian invasion, falls at BNP Paribas Open
Dayana Yastremska vs. Coco Gauff head-to-head
Gauff may lead the head-to-head battle 3-1, but Yastremska got the better of Gauff on Tuesday at Wimbledon. Their last match was during the Madrid Open in April, with Gauff coming away with an 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory in the second round on the clay court.
"(Yastremska) played great," Gauff said on Tuesday. "I played her on clay and I think that surface suits me better and it was still a tough three-setter. I knew today would be tough, but I had chances."
Yastremska said "playing against Coco it is something special." She added, "I played with her already three times, of course now four. It's 3-1 for her. She's a great player, a great person and we're in very good relationship."
Here's a look at their head-to-head record:
Contributing: Andrew John
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