‘I really wanted to win this one for Ukraine,’ Dayana Yastremska breaks down after a heartbreaking loss at Lyon
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Dayana Yastremska
Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska‘s dream run comes to an end in the Final of the 2022 Lyon Open as she went down fighting to Zhang Shuai in three sets 6-3,3-6,4-6. Yastremska, who was playing in Lyon, was emotional all week as her country in currently in the middle of the war.
Ukraine is trying to withstand an invasion by Russia since the last week and Ukrainian players have publicly spoken against the Russians. In the trophy presentation ceremony, Yastremska, draped in her country’s flag, tearfully spoke in front of the Lyon crowd and sent a message to the people of Ukraine fighting for their country, and urged them to stay strong.
“It’s been a tough week,” she said. “If Ukrainian people are watching me, I want to say ‘you guys are so strong, you have an amazing spirit, and I tried to fight for Ukraine.”
She also announced that she’ll be donating all the prize money she won in Lyon to the Ukrainian Foundation. “The prize money I earn here I’m going to give to the Ukrainian Foundation to support Ukraine,” she said.
A tearful Yastremska then emphasized that he was fighting all week for her country and thanked the crowd for supporting her all week. “Thanks to the public for the support. I’ve been fighting all week, not only for myself but also for my country. Everybody was supporting me a lot. I felt so much power from the people here,” she said.
The Ukrainian then took to social media to address her country and penned down a very short and emotional message for her fellow Ukrainians.
“My beloved Ukraine, I really wanted to win this one for you!! ???I gave my absolute best throughout this week because that’s what Ukrainians do! Thank you for all the support I received this week, it means the world to me. I am forever grateful!#StandWithUkraine” she wrote.
Dayana Yastremska receives wild card for Indian Wells
Given her amazing run in Lyon, Yastremska receives a wild card entry into the WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells. This was after Italian Camila Giorgi pulled out of the tournament which enabled former champion, Naomi Osaka to get a direct entry based on her rankings.
Osaka was one of the entries on the wild card list but due to her direct entry, that slot was up for grabs and the tournament decided to grant the same to Lyon Open finalist, Dayana Yastremska.
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