Tennis: Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska receives wildcard into Indian Wells Masters after making Lyon final

Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska has scored a wildcard into the prestigious Indian Wells Masters after fleeing her war-torn country.

Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska will contest the Indian Wells Masters as a wildcard as the tennis community rallies around her.

Camila Giorgi’s withdrawal meant Naomi Osaka, who previously needed a wildcard, gained direct entry into the main draw.

Yastremska reached the Lyon WTA final, which she lost in three sets to China’s Zhang Shuai on Monday morning, after she and her teenage sister Ivanna fled their war-torn homeland without their parents.

She walked out for her matches with a Ukraine flag draped over her shoulders and played in her country’s blue and yellow.

The 21-year-old, who is ranked 140th in the world after being as high as No.21 two years ago, also received a wildcard into Lyon and subsequently played her first final since losing to Ash Barty in Adelaide two years ago.

Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska scored a wildcard into Indian Wells after her great run at Lyon, France. Picture: AFP

She and her family were sheltered in an underground carpark for multiple nights barely a week ago and revealed she was “woken up by bombs” as Russia invades her country.

Yastremska plans to donate her Lyon prizemoney to support her countrymen and women.

“If Ukrainian people are watching me, I want to say you guys are so strong, you have an amazing spirit,” she said after the final.

“I tried to fight for Ukraine and I want to say thanks to every single person from Ukraine for standing by Ukraine and showing the people that we have a really strong spirit.”

Yastremska said after her semi-final victory that her spirit was “pretty strong right now”, which helped her deal with the significant adversity she and her country were facing.

Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska will donate her prizemoney to help her country’s cause. Picture: AFP

“I’m Ukrainian, and Ukrainian people are very strong. You can see that now during the war,” she said.

“Every win from now on goes to my country. Compared to what’s going on, it has no big meaning.”

Ukraine’s top women’s player, Elina Svitolina, made the quarter-finals last week at another WTA tournament at Monterrey after delivering an ultimatum to the tour’s governing bodies.

Svitolina wanted all Russian and Belarusian players to compete only as neutral athletes, a decision that was made in time for her to play her first-round match against Russia’s Anastasia Potapova.

She also said she would give her prizemoney from the event to the Ukrainian military.

Originally published as Tennis: Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska receives wildcard into Indian Wells Masters after making Lyon final