EXCLUSIVE | From GoFundMe to US Open: Yuliia Starodubtseva’s unconventional rise
· The South African
The path to elite professional tennis is typically rigid and paved from early childhood: specialised academies, junior ITF circuits, private touring coaches, and heavy financial backing.
Ukrainian star Yuliia Starodubtseva, however, shredded that playbook entirely.
Visit afsport.lat for more information.
Her journey to breaking into the world’s Top 60 and electrifying the grandstands at Flushing Meadows is a story of sheer resilience, crowdsourced faith, and an improbable coaching partnership with deep South African ties.
A Unique Collegiate Foundation
Unlike many of her peers on the WTA Tour, Yuliia Starodubtseva didn’t jump straight into professional competition as a teenager.
Instead, she spent five years at Old Dominion University in the United States, competing in the high-pressure collegiate system while earning a master’s degree in Sports Management.
It was an extended stint made possible partly by an extra eligibility year granted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I don’t think that I would ever change my path, the way I went through college,” Starodubtseva reflects.
“The most important part wasn’t even tennis or mental strength but maturing. Taking those five years, being on my own, solving my own problems, and not being around my parents … I felt like I was someone before I entered the tour, you know? I wasn’t just thrown as a kid into the tour, constantly living in hotels, going tournament to tournament, seeing no other life.”
That independence became her bedrock when she transitioned out of college in the summer of 2022.
Balancing an internship with coaching in New York, Yuliia Starodubtseva held vague ambitions of testing the professional waters if she could scrape together sufficient funds.
To stay sharp, she approached a local academy director in New York, asking if she could train alongside the academy’s top junior boys free of charge.
“I asked if I could practice with the boys from the academy. I said, ‘I don’t have much money to pay, but it’ll be good for your boys, and good for me.’ I trained myself with them while still coaching on the side,” she recalls.
The $17 000 Grassroots Miracle
Recognising her immense natural talent and ferocious work ethic, supporters at the academy stepped in with an unexpected lifeline: they launched a GoFundMe campaign, raising approximately $17 000 (around R300 000) from friends and well-wishers to launch her professional career.
That modest grassroots war chest proved transformative.
Deprived of an initial ITF ranking, Yuliia Starodubtseva used the funds to travel to Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) events at the start of 2023, earning wildcards into lower-tier ITF tournaments.
Within just six months, she achieved what many spend years striving for: qualifying for the main draw of the 2023 US Open without having ever played a single WTA main-draw match prior.
Her sudden exposure to the upper echelons of the sport was a baptism by fire.
By early 2024, she had qualified for the Australian Open, drawing former world No 2 Ons Jabeur under the bright lights of Margaret Court Arena.
“I could not see the ball properly,” Starodubtseva laughs, recalling the overwhelming spectacle.
“She came out in her cloak … It was like an entrance! I didn’t even know where to put my bag on court. But you adapt quickly.”
South African Passion & Grand Slam Heartbreak
Behind Yuliia Starodubtseva’s meteoric rise is a distinctive dual-coaching set-up combining South African expertise and Australian flair.
Her coaching team features South African veteran coach Marcel du Coudray alongside her Australian partner and co-coach, Pearse Dolan.
The coaching dynamic brought raw emotional drama to the 2026 US Open during Starodubtseva’s epic second-round victory over former top-10-star Maria Sakkari.
After dropping the opening set 6-1 and facing multiple match points in the second, Starodubtseva staged a heroic fightback.
Battling severe full-body cramping in the decider, to the extent that she was forced to execute a desperation underarm serve at 5-2, she gutted out a memorable 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory.
The sheer tension of the comeback pushed her South African coach to his emotional limits.
Following the match, Du Coudray was moved to tears in the player box before sprinting off into the facility corridors just to burn off the surging adrenaline.
“He went to do sprints after because he had too much adrenaline in him!” Starodubtseva laughs.
“I didn’t see him crying on court, but somebody told me afterwards. It means so much to have that level of belief around you.”
In her third-round clash against world No 2 Elena Rybakina, Starodubtseva pushed the Wimbledon champion to the absolute brink, serving for the opening set and holding a set point before falling 7-6 (8/6), 6-3.
Despite the defeat, the Ukrainian proved unequivocally that she belongs on tennis’s grandest stages.
Bridging Cultures: Cricket, Rugby, and South African Tennis
Through her work with Du Coudray, Yuliia Starodubtseva has received a crash course in South African sporting culture, a world vastly different from her upbringing in Ukraine.
“Before I met Marcel, I didn’t know much about South Africa,” she admits.
“He told me there aren’t many tennis players from there right now. In Ukraine, tennis was very popular growing up, alongside football. But Marcel is a huge cricket fan! We don’t have that in Ukraine at all.”
While cricket remains a novel puzzle, Starodubtseva has enthusiastically embraced another staple of southern hemisphere sports culture: rugby.
Having attended her first live match in Sydney last year, she was instantly hooked by the physicality. “I really loved it!” she grins. “They smash each other – no pads, no helmets. I love it!”
With racquet sports currently experiencing an unprecedented boom across South Africa, fuelled by the rapid rise of padel and renewed community tennis interest, Starodubtseva hopes her story serves as an encouraging blueprint for young South African talent contemplating the US collegiate route as a stepping stone to professional success.
Perspective Amid Conflict Back Home
Yuliia Starodubtseva’s fighting spirit on court is deeply connected to the harsh reality she faces off it.
Hailing from Nova Kakhovka, a Ukrainian city currently under Russian military occupation, she carries the heavy emotional weight of a homeland torn apart by war.
Her hometown has suffered severe infrastructure destruction and flooding.
While some of her family members remain in the high-risk region, Starodubtseva faces the heartbreaking reality that she may never be able to return to the place where she grew up.
“It’s very dangerous there… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to come back to where I’m from because our houses are not in good condition anymore. It feels like a big part of me is gone, but as long as my family is safe and fine, I take that.”
To preserve her mental focus during major tournaments, she deliberately deletes social media apps to avoid traumatic news cycles before stepping onto court.
Yet, she draws immense inspiration from the stoic resilience of her people, including her grandfather, who unfazedly went fishing right after catastrophic local flooding.
On tour, Starodubtseva has found strong solidarity, building a close friendship with fellow player Daria Kasatkina, who famously renounced her Russian athletic allegiance to represent Australia while speaking out boldly against the conflict.
“I don’t discriminate against people by where they were born,” Starodubtseva emphasises.
“Dasha showed her opinion, she spoke out, and I appreciate that so much. Only a strong, brave person can do that.”
For Yuliia Starodubtseva, tennis is no longer just about rankings or prize money. It is a platform to display hope, determination, and gratitude.
From crowdsourced dollars in New York to emotional South African coaching celebrations and heroic Grand Slam battles, her journey proves that no matter where you start, or what adversity confronts you, grit and heart will always find a way.
Dave Marshall is reporting exclusively from the 2026 US Open in New York for The South African.