Starodubtseva Scores Top 10 Win Today, Aims for Top 50 and Marriage Proposal Next
By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Photo credit: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty
Yulia Starodubtseva hit a professional peak today and is aiming for romantic union this week.
Starodubtseva shocked world No. 2 Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(10-4) in the second round scoring her first career Top 10 win and ending the Australian Open champion’s shot for a calendar Grand Slam.
Winless in six prior meetings vs. Top 10 opponents, a calm Starodubtseva outplayed a twitchy Rybakina in the tiebreaker.
Afterward, Starodubtseva shared she had added motivation for this major upset.
Prior to the tournament, the 55th-ranked Ukrainian made a bet with her boyfriend and coach: If she cracks the Top 50, he proposes marriage.
“My boyfriend is my coach, and he told me if I break through top 50, he’ll propose,” Starodubtseva said. “He’s getting scared now. (Laughter.) I’m getting close. Yeah.”
In fact, this win propels the 26-year-old Ukrainian to No. 54 in the WTA Live Rankings.
“But besides my boyfriend being my coach, I also bring Pearse, is his name,” Starodubtseva said. “I also bring sometimes to my team another coach, tennis coach, who maybe has more experience on tour.
“His name is Eric Hechtman. He has been with me for a few tournaments before. He’s not always with me, but some tournaments he is. And now I added a physio to the team.”
After ending Australian Open champion Rybakina’s shot of the calendar Grand Slam, Starodubtseva, a Sports Management major at Old Dominion, credited her collegiate experience with helping grow her game.
“I definitely got better as a tennis player in college, because prior to college, I didn’t have many good results,” Starodubtseva said. “I think my last year in college I got to play a lot of good players. I played No. 1 last year, and I have played Emma Navarro now, I played McCartney Kessler there, which is good-level people.
“I feel like my level increased over the last year just by playing against those players. So that really, I think, helped me.”
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