Julia reaches the third round of the WTA 1000 tournament for the first time in her career
Fifth seed from Ukraine, Julia Starodubtseva (WTA 108), continues her victorious march at the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, USA. In the second round, the Ukrainian forced the 30th-ranked Kristina Buksha from Spain to capitulate.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the match result.
Read also: A real thriller in Miami: Yastremska saved three match points and achieved the impossible
WTA 1000. Miami. 2nd round (1/32 finals)
Julia Starodubtseva (Ukraine) – Kristina Buksha (Spain) – 6:2, 3:2, retirement
Ukrainian confidence and opponent’s issues
Starodubtseva seized the initiative from the very first rallies against the favorite. The Ukrainian confidently took the first set (6:2). At the end of the set, the Spaniard was forced to take a medical timeout off the court.
Julia’s dominance continued in the second set. With a score of 3:2 in favor of the Ukrainian, Buksha officially retired from the match.
Records and statistics
For the 26-year-old Ukrainian, this victory was significant for several reasons:
- The fourth victory over a top-30 player in her career (the first since July of last year).
- A personal record in Miami: Julia reached the third round of this “thousand” for the first time.
- The first victory over Buksha: previously, the Spaniard had defeated the Ukrainian twice on clay and grass, but their first meeting on hard court ended in favor of Starodubtseva.
Next, a battle with the sixth seed
In the next round, the Ukrainian faces a true test of strength. Starodubtseva will play against the sixth-ranked player in the world – Amanda Anisimova. This will be the second encounter between Starodubtseva and the American (in May 2025, she lost at Roland Garros in Paris – 0:2).
Recall that Julia made it to the main draw in Miami through qualifying, defeating four opponents in a row.
When other Ukrainians play
Three more matches featuring Ukrainian tennis players will take place on the night of March 21 (Kyiv time).
- Diana Yastremska (WTA 54) will play against Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko (WTA 24)
- Elina Svitolina (WTA 8) – against Australia’s Emerson Jones (WTA 147)
- Marta Kostyuk (WTA 28) – against Kamilla Rahimova (WTA 82), who recently changed her citizenship from Russian to Uzbek.
Earlier, we reported how the Ukrainian set a tennis record that Svitolina could not achieve.
