Photo: EPA
Ukrainian tennis player reaches WTA 250 semifinals
Ukrainian tennis player Oleksandra Oliinykova (WTA 91) advanced to the semifinals of the WTA 250 tournament in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
In the quarterfinal match, Oliinykova defeated world No. 33 Xinyu Wang from China 6-4, 6-4 in two hours, marking her first career victory over a top-50 WTA player.
“I come from a country at war, and you never know what tomorrow will bring. So yes, this is very important to me. I think that in such difficult times in my country, I’ve learned to enjoy every moment, every moment of tennis. I’m very, very happy, and right now it’s hard for me to describe how I feel,” Oliinykova said after the match.
Earlier in the tournament, the Ukrainian player also defeated Egypt’s Mayar Sherif and Hungary’s Anna Bondar. Her win over Sherif was her first victory in the main draw of a major WTA tournament.
In the semifinals, Oliinykova will face the winner of the match between Emma Raducanu (Great Britain, WTA 30) and Maja Chwalińska (Poland, WTA 146).
Earlier this January, the 25-year-old Oliinykova made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, losing in the first round of the 2025 Australian Open to champion Madison Keys.
