Yuliia Starodubtseva is being thrust into the spotlight on Easter Sunday, April 5, with a match against Jessica Pegula at the Charleston Open. While Pegula is already a big name in the tennis world, Starodubtseva is still gaining momentum and popularity, and ahead of the game, she opened up with some personal details about herself.
Starodubtseva and Pagula go up against each other in the Charleston Open at 1 p.m. Eastern time at Credit One Stadium. Both athletes had to overcome the odds to get to the finals, so it’ll make for an exciting match.
So, who is Starodubtseva and what does she do for fun outside of tennis? The athlete opened up with her story just hours before her match with Pegula.
Yuliia Starodubtseva Tells Her Story Ahead of Jessica Pegula Match at Charleston Open
The Ukrainian World No. 89 spoke with Tennis.com amid her success at the Charleston Open in a feature out on Saturday, April 4. In the piece, she talked about everything from her boyfriend, who is a big Aaron Rodgers fan, to what she does outside of tennis.
Starodubtseva, who is native to Ukraine, played tennis at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. Since she wasn’t ready to go professional yet, she says it was a great chance to get better and also get an education.
“In all fairness, like I was 17 years old, and I had no idea about American colleges,” Starodubtseva told reporters of the decision after her quarterfinal win over McCartney Kessler. “It just seemed like a great opportunity, especially at that moment I wasn’t able to go pro.”
Now that she’s in the spotlight at the Charleston Open, the tennis player says that it feels natural. “It’s funny thing you say that. We’ve been talking about it for a year, how I thrive on big stages,” the told Tennis.com. “I may not perform on small stages sometimes, which I’m trying to fix.”
She added, “Hopefully I won’t need to play on so many small stages. I feel like I belong here and I feel comfortable with a big crowd, feeling the noise. I feel it kind of inspires me and gives me more motivation.”
Yuliia Starodubtseva Shares What She Does Outside of Tennis and Says She’s a Techno Fan
When asked by Tennis.com, via TWA Tennis, what she does for fun outside of tennis, Starodubtseva says, “I love to drive, I like good cars. I like techno music, listening to a lot of that.” She added, “Sometimes I read books, but I’m not sure if it’s my favorite hobby, I just try to do it. Watching movies, TV shows, going to cinema here.”
She also said that she watches a lot of football. “I get influenced by my boyfriend, he watches a lot of American football so I have to sit there and watch it as well (laughing),” she added, saying that he “loves Aaron Rodgers. Me, too, now.”
Starodubtseva also made an admission that she just kind of fell into tennis. “I picked a sport for me to do when I was five,” she said. “It wasn’t competitive at all at first until maybe 11 (years old). I started winning some home tournaments, then my dad took me to some tournaments in Ukraine, won that, as well.”
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