Ukrainian tennis star Lyudmyla Kichenok won her first major title with Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Sept. 6, winning in two sets in the women's doubles final at the U.S. Open.
Kichenok and Ostapenko defeated China's Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, leading the pair to their first Grand Slam title and fifth team title. The pair did not lose a single set throughout the tournament.
The win marks Kichenok's second major title having previously won the 2023 Wimbledon Championships in mixed double with Croatia's Mate Pavic. Before today's victory Kichenok ranked 17th overall in the Women Tennis Association's (WTA) doubles ranking.
Following her victory, Kichenok dedicated her victory to "the people in Ukraine."
"I want to dedicate my wins to the people in Ukraine," Kichenok said. "They are fighting very hard for our freedom right now and I just hope I can give them some encouragement. My heart is with them."
Earlier this year, Kichenok and Ostapenko reached their first Grand Slam finals together during the Australian Open women's doubles event but lost to Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei and Belgium's Elise Mertens. At the time the 31-year-old Dnipro-born Ostapenko became just the third Ukrainian female tennis player to reach the Grand Slam doubles final.
Along with her sister Nadiia, Lyudmyla reached the quarterfinals of women's doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Following the match Kichenok announced that she was scheduled to marry her fiancé Stas Kumarsky - who also serve as Ostapenko's coach - on Sept. 4, but her advancement to the semi-finals temporarily postponed the planned marriage.
"We had an appointment to get married this Wednesday but I had the semifinals," Kichenok told ESPN during the trophy ceremony.
Abbey Fenbert
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