Yuliia Starodubtseva, a professional tennis player from Ukraine, attained her highest singles ranking of No 79 at the WTA and reached a peak of No 144 in the WTA doubles rankings. She has secured four singles titles and three doubles titles in the ITF Circuit and competed in collegiate tennis at Old Dominion University.
Yuliia Starodubtseva was born on February 17, 2000, in Kakhovka, Ukraine. She started in tennis at early age and her coach saw the great talent and skills. She moved to the USA to train and attended to Old Dominion University, where played college tennis.
In 2017/2018 season, Yuliia Starodubtseva was selected for the All-Conference USA Singles Second Team and the All-Freshman Team. The true freshman achieved the highest record on the team, finishing with a remarkable 19-2 in No 2 and No 3 singles. Additionally, she was recognized on the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
In 2018/2019, Yuliia Starodubtseva earned the title of ITA Atlantic Region Player to Watch and was recognized as a second Team All-Conference USA selection for both singles and doubles. She achieved a record of 20 wins and 11 losses in singles and 17 wins and 8 losses in doubles, reaching the finals of the ITA Regional doubles tournament after defeating the top-seeded team. In postseason play, Yuliia Starodubtseva remained undefeated, securing crucial straight-set victories against Fernanda Astete from Rice University in the Conference USA Tournament finals and Chloe Gullikson from the University of Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Yuliia Starodubtseva earned recognition in the 2019/2020 season as an All-Conference and All-State USA First Team player for both singles and doubles. She was honored as the C-USA Athlete of the Month on two occasions during the fall and received the C-USA Athlete of the Week award once in the spring. Additionally, she and her partner Alesya Yakubovich secured the ITA Atlantic Region doubles title. Remarkably, both athletes advanced from being unranked in doubles to achieving a national ranking of No. 7 by the end of the year, the highest ranking for any doubles pair in the program’s history. During the spring season, Yuliia Starodubtseva recorded a singles record of 10-2 and maintained an impeccable 5-0 record in doubles.
In 2020/2021, Yuliia Starodubtseva was honored as the C-USA Player of the Year and received All-Conference USA First Team recognition for both singles and doubles. She concluded the season as the top-ranked singles player in Conference USA, achieving a record of 12-3. Additionally, she was included in the Conference USA Honor Roll and recognized as C-USA Athlete of the Week in February.
During the 2021/2022 college tennis season, Yuliia Starodubtseva was a standout performer, earning the title of Conference USA Athlete of the Week three times and Conference USA Athlete of the Month twice. She achieved victories in both #1 singles against Princeton in the spring and #1 doubles against Oklahoma in the fall of 2021. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, she secured 17 consecutive wins and played a pivotal role in leading her team to a second consecutive C-USA championship, losing only 10 games across three matches and winning the opening match for ODU each day.
Yuliia Starodubtseva turned professional in 2023. She won her first $60k tournament in June in Sumter, South Carolina.
In January 2024, she achieved a ranking within the top 150 in singles. She made her major tournament debut at the Australian Open after successfully qualifying, but was eliminated in the first round by sixth seed Ons Jabeur. Yuliia Starodubtseva also made her debut at the French Open as a qualifier, where she was defeated in straight sets by Cristina Bucșa. She secured her first victory in the main draw of a major tournament at Wimbledon, qualifying and winning against Alison Van Uytvanck in her debut. However, she was eliminated in the second round by fellow qualifier Lulu Sun. Ranked No. 146, she made her debut at the US Open after qualifying for the main draw, but lost in three sets to 20th seed Victoria Azarenka. Notably, she became the first woman in the Open era to qualify for all four major tournaments in a single season.
In September, Yuliia Starodubtseva reached her first WTA Tour quarterfinal at the 2024 Jasmin Open, defeating Suzan Lamens and third seed Diane Parry, before being defeated by Sonay Kartal. At the China Open, after qualifying, she achieved her first two main-draw victories at the WTA 1000 level against Laura Siegemund and 27th seed Kateřina Siniaková, marking her first win against a top 50 player. Subsequently, she triumphed over Elina Avanesyan and tenth seed Anna Kalinskaya, reaching the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career, which propelled her into the top 100 of the singles rankings.
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