Where does Yastremska live? Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska said her mission at the Australian Open was to show pride in her war-torn home after Wednesday becoming just the second women’s qualifier in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne. In searing conditions on Rod Laver Arena, the world number 93 broke three times to beat unseeded Czech Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 in 78 minutes. It set up a last-four clash against unseeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya or Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen. Yastremska is the first women’s qualifier to reach the last four at the season-opening Grand Slam since Australia’s Christine Matison in 1978. “It’s nice to make history, because at that time I wasn’t even born,” she said. Dayana Oleksandrivna Yastremska (Ukrainian: Даяна Олександрівна Ястремська; born 15 May 2000) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 21 by the WTA, achieved in January 2020. Yastremska has won three WTA Tour titles. Her best performance at the majors is reaching the semifinals at the 2024 Australian Open. Yastremska at the 2023 French Open Native name Даяна Ястремська Country (sports) Ukraine Residence Lyon, France Born 15 May 2000 (age 23) Odesa, Ukraine Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Plays Right (two-handed backhand) Coach Emmanuel Heussner, Marcis Garuts Prize money $3,255,888 Singles Career record 214–150 (58.8%) Career titles 3 WTA, 1 WTA Challenger Highest ranking No. 21 (20 January 2020) Current ranking No. 93 (15 January 2024) Grand Slam singles results Australian Open SF (2024) French Open 1R (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023) Wimbledon 4R (2019) US Open 3R (2019) Doubles Career record 39–38 (50.6%) Career titles 0 WTA, 3 ITF Highest ranking No. 82 (6 January 2020) Current ranking No. 746 (15 January 2024) Grand Slam doubles results Australian Open 3R (2022) French Open 1R (2020) Wimbledon 1R (2019, 2022) US Open 3R (2021) Grand Slam mixed doubles results US Open SF (2021) Last updated on: 23 January 2024. A junior Grand Slam tournament runner-up in both singles and doubles, Yastremska had a quick breakthrough onto the WTA Tour. She made her debut in the top 100 and won two titles when she was 18 years old, including her first at the Hong Kong Open in 2018. She had a successful 2019 that helped her rise from No. 58 at the start of the year up to No. 22 by the end of the season. Yastremska was suspended provisionally from competition at the start of 2021 after testing positive for mesterolone. On 22 June 2021, the International Tennis Federation ruled that Yastremska was not responsible for the positive result, and that she was eligible to return to competition immediately. She made her return to the tour at the Hamburg Open. Early life and background Dayana Yastremska was born on 15 May 2000 to Marina and Alexander Yastremsky in Odesa, the third-largest city in Ukraine. She has a sister Ivanna who is six years younger. Her father had been a volleyball player and also has served on the Odesa City Council. When Yastremska was five years old, her grandfather Ivan introduced her to tennis. After trying other sports such as gymnastics and swimming, she chose to focus on tennis, saying at the age of twelve, “I chose tennis because it is very hard and beautiful. I love work and I want to write my new history in tennis.” She entered her first tournament when she was seven and finished in third place, despite the event being open to children who were several years older. Yastremska credits her parents for her success at tennis, saying, “When I was younger I had to sacrifice a lot of things but now I’m not regretting it… I have to say a big thank you to my parents because if they didn’t push me in the right moment then I don’t think I’d have the life I have right now.” The 23-year-old wrote a message of support for Ukrainian fighters involved in the war against Russia on a TV camera lens after her win. “I’m very proud of them,” she said. “They really deserve huge respect. I always try to write something for Ukraine, about Ukraine. “I think it’s my mission here. If I do well, I can get — tough to express. I’m just trying to give the signal to Ukraine that I’m really proud of it.” Yastremska faced a tough battle to reach the main draw at Melbourne Park, being taken the distance in all three of her qualifying matches. But she moved up a gear when the season-opening Grand Slam started, hammering Wimbledon champion and seventh seed Marketa Vondrousova in the first round and eliminating two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round. Noskova, 19, was the first to make a move in their quarter-final, breaking in the third game, only for her opponent to hit straight back to level at 2-2. Another break in the eighth game for Yastremska gave her the chance to serve out for the set and she made no mistake. The key moment in the second set came in the seventh game when Yastremska thundered a backhand winner past 50th-ranked Noskova to break and she went on to wrap up victory with minimum fuss. Qualifying slog Yastremska, who has won three WTA singles titles, said she had not thought about how far she could go in Melbourne when she started the qualifying campaign. “I was working on some things that is a little bit, like, personal, you know,” she said. “It was more associating with my head and with the way I feel on court. “I wasn’t really putting the goal, you know, to go quarters, fourth round, semis or whatever. I was just trying to enjoy playing here.” Yastremska’s run in Melbourne will send her soaring up the rankings. She reached a career-high 21 in January 2020, a year before she was suspended for a failed dope test. But that ban was subsequently lifted after an independent tribunal accepted that her positive test was the result of contamination. Yastremska said she had a wide array of interests outside tennis, including fashion and music. “In February I hope that one new song will come out,” she said. “It’s not just mine. It’s going be three of us, three different countries, that we, you know, got together and we made a nice song.