Yulia Starodubtseva Breaks Through at US Open
Yulia Starodubtseva finally has her New York breakthrough.
On her third visit to the US Open main draw, the Ukrainian tore past Germany’s Ella Seidel 6-2, 6-2 in the first round, clearing an obstacle that had twice stopped her at the very first step. This time, she walked off Louis Armstrong–style: head high, job done, still with plenty of tennis left in her week.
A Barrier Broken
Two previous main-draw appearances at Flushing Meadows, two first-round exits. The pattern had started to look cruel. On Monday, Starodubtseva ripped it up.
Facing Seidel, ranked 123rd in the world at the time of the match, she knew the matchup and knew it suited her. Their only previous meeting had also ended in straight sets to the Ukrainian. That history showed from the opening games.
Starodubtseva came out swinging in the first set, stepping inside the baseline, attacking second serves, and making the German chase. At 2–1, the pressure told: she broke serve and seized control of the set.
Seidel hit back immediately, snatching one of the breaks to close to 2–3, hinting at a contest. That was as close as she got. Starodubtseva shut the door, reasserted herself in the rallies, and reeled off three straight games. The set was gone in 6–2, and with it, much of Seidel’s belief.
Total Control in Set Two
Any thought of nerves creeping in with the finish line in sight vanished almost instantly.
Starodubtseva stormed through the opening games of the second set, racing to a 4–0 lead and converting two more break points with the same clarity and purpose that had defined the first set. Her serve held up, her groundstrokes stayed heavy and deep, and she refused to let Seidel build any kind of sustained momentum.
The German tried to change the rhythm, to extend rallies, to drag the match into something messier. Starodubtseva didn’t bite. She managed the scoreboard, kept the gap comfortable, and closed it out with composure: another 6–2 set, another straight-sets win, and a place in the second round at the US Open for the first time.
The match lasted 1 hour 18 minutes. It never really felt that long.
Final score: 2026 US Open, First Round Yulia Starodubtseva (Ukraine) def. Ella Seidel (Germany) 2:0 (6:2, 6:2)
What Comes Next
The reward is a step into new territory.
Starodubtseva now awaits the winner of Robin Montgomery vs Maria Sakkari in the second round. Whether it’s the American or the Greek across the net, the Ukrainian has already guaranteed herself at least one more night under the New York lights and a shot at something she has never done before: reaching the third round of a Grand Slam.
For her, this is already the most successful US Open of her career. She once had to battle through qualifying just to reach the main draw; now she’s playing for a place in week two conversations.
A Broader Ukrainian Story in New York
Starodubtseva’s win is part of a wider Ukrainian presence at this year’s tournament.
Seven Ukrainian women made the main draw. Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina have already joined Starodubtseva in the second round, each winning their opening matches. Svitolina, Ukraine’s top-ranked player, set the tone on August 31 with a confident victory over Argentina’s Solana Sierra, the world No. 91, underlining her status as the country’s standard-bearer.
Not all of the stories have been happy ones. For Dayana Yastremska and Daria Snigur, the US Open ended with their first matches. Oleksandra Oliynikova is still to start, set to face American Reese Brantmeier in her opener.
But the Ukrainian flag is visible across the grounds, and Starodubtseva’s progress adds another thread to a compelling national narrative at a US Open boasting a record prize pool and no shortage of ambition.
For Starodubtseva, the next question is simple and sharp: having finally broken the first-round wall in New York, how far can she push it now?
