Ukrainian tennis player Yulia Starodubtseva was eliminated in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, losing to the world’s 95th-ranked player, Frenchwoman Léolia Jeanjean, reports Baltimore Chronicle.
In addition to Starodubtseva, four other Ukrainian tennis players are competing in the tournament: Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, and Dayana Yastremska, who will begin their campaigns from the second round, while Yulia started from the first.
Her opponent was French player Léolia Jeanjean, with whom this was their second meeting. The previous match took place in February 2025 during the WTA 500 qualifying tournament in Mérida, where the Frenchwoman won in two sets.
The match started with a series of breaks, after which Starodubtseva won another game on Jeanjean’s serve and went ahead 4:1. However, Léolia mounted a comeback, winning four consecutive games and taking the first set 7:5.
In the second set, the Ukrainian completely dominated, allowing her opponent to win only one game. Starodubtseva claimed six games, including two on Jeanjean’s serve.
The third set was decisive. Yulia began with a strong push, making three consecutive breaks. However, the Frenchwoman responded with a string of games, winning four in a row and evening the score. In the end, Jeanjean claimed one more break and took the set 6:4. The total match time was 3 hours and 7 minutes. During the match, Starodubtseva converted six of 16 break points and committed six double faults.
WTA 1000. Cincinnati. 1st Round
Yulia Starodubtseva (Ukraine) – Léolia Jeanjean (France) 1:2 (5:7, 6:1, 4:6).
Earlier we wrote that Lyudmyla Kichenok to compete at WTA 1000 in Cincinnati with Ellen Perez.