A week ago Dajana Jastremska fled, now she’s missing out on winning the tournament

A touching, even a little tragic story came to an end on Sunday for the time being. According to her own statements, the Ukrainian tennis player Dajana Jastremska was roused from her sleep by Russian bombs just a week ago. Now she narrowly missed victory in the final of the WTA 250 tournament in Lyon. In the final, the 128 in the world lost to the Chinese Zhang Shuai (WTA 64) in three sets 6:3, 3:6, 4:6. The 21-year-old missed her 4th WTA title, the first in almost three years.

But these are probably details that are not so important to the Ukrainian at the moment. She’s seen too much in the last week. In fact, it’s hard to imagine what Jastremska has endured since the start of the war, after which the Russian military invaded Ukraine.

In Odessa, a port city in Ukraine, the tennis player and her family initially spent two nights in an underground car park. This to protect against Russian attacks. Then her parents made the decision to bring her and her little sister (15) from Ukraine. “They wanted that at all costs,” Jastremska later wrote on Instagram.

So the family packed their few belongings and drove to the Romanian border by car. It was there that parents and children parted ways. Men who are capable of military service are currently not allowed to leave the country, but the mother did not want to leave her husband and children’s father alone. And so Jastremska and her 15-year-old sister sailed alone across the Danube to Romania.

From there she flew to Lyon, where she received a wild card for the WTA tournament. After fleeing, the 21-year-old wrote on Instagram: “Mom, Dad, we love you very much, take care of yourselves!!! I love my country! Ukrainians, take care of yourselves!” And: “My heart stays at home and my mind fights here, so it’s very difficult to find concentration, to find balance.”

But she found it, the concentration. In Lyon she rushed from victory to victory – and repeatedly expressed herself very emotionally. For example, after her victory in the semifinals against Sorana Cirstea (ROM/WTA 30), she said: “I’m incredibly proud to be Ukrainian. And I’m proud of how all Ukrainians stand together for freedom. That gives me the strength to fight on the tennis court. My victories are for Ukraine.” She only lost the final. This is the first time that the story of Jastremska has come to an end. The war in Ukraine is not over yet.