Starodubtseva reaches first WTA final in Charleston
CHARLESTON, S. C. — starodubtseva has reached the first WTA Tour final of her career in Charleston after arriving at the tournament with modest expectations. The World No. 89 entered as a qualifier before a withdrawal moved her into the main draw, and she is now set to face defending champion Jessica Pegula for the title.
How Starodubtseva got here
The run has come during a stretch Starodubtseva described as uneven, with her confidence not fully matching the level she knew she could bring. In Charleston, that changed quickly. She moved through the draw and into her first career WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz final in the Lowcountry.
The path has also carried personal weight. Starodubtseva said after her semifinal win over Madison Keys that she has not been back home in four years because of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany, and is moving to Barcelona, Spain soon.
“I still have family back home, ” Starodubtseva said. “I haven’t been home for four years. Really miss home. Haven’t seen my dad for four years, my grandparents. ”
She added: “It’s been hard. I keep thinking how to bring us all together, but maybe now it’s going to become easier because I feel like a lot of it depends on the finals. ”
Starodubtseva’s route through college tennis
Before reaching the pro game, Starodubtseva chose the collegiate route abroad from Ukraine because she was not financially ready to turn professional at 17. She enrolled at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and said the choice made sense because the school offered resources to compete and had other Ukrainian players on the team.
“It just seemed like a great opportunity, especially at that moment I wasn’t able to go pro, ” Starodubtseva said after her quarterfinal win over McCartney Kessler. She also pointed to the scholarship, food and accommodations as part of what made the move workable.
In spring 2022, she posted a 22-1 singles record, with her only loss coming to Kessler. After graduating from Old Dominion in 2022, she spent a year in Westchester, New York, coaching at Westchester Country Club while also playing UTR tournaments as a bridge to the professional ranks.
What comes next in Charleston
Starodubtseva’s Charleston run has also brought old connections back into view. Her current coach and boyfriend, Pearse Dolan, played on the men’s team at Old Dominion while she was there, and has coached her for the past year and a half.
She joked that her time on the 15 green clay courts at Westchester Country Club may have helped her feel so comfortable in Charleston. “There is an inside joke that I’m so comfortable on green clay because I coached it for a year, ” Starodubtseva said Friday.
Now the focus shifts to the final, where starodubtseva will try to turn a surprise run into a title against Pegula. For a player who entered Charleston without high expectations, the chance is immediate and significant, and the outcome will decide how far this breakthrough goes.
